Male Consumers' Behaviour in a High-Priced Clothing Market - Based on Depth Interviews for Brand Image Evaluation -

Since the Korean economic crisis in 1997, consumers are selecting goods that are more economical and more reasonably priced. Markets for wealthy people, however, have seldom been influenced by economic conditions. Consequently, 'noble marketing' is a new term that marketers should become acquainted with (Kim, 1998). The continuously expanding 'noble market' that generates high profit for marketers needs to be explored, especially the men's wear market. This study adopted a qualitative method (i.e., in-depth interview) with 16 male consumers each. These men who spent more than 3,600,000 won on apparel goods in 2000 and each man had purchased at least one item-suit, jacket, trousers, or coat-from a list of high-priced brands that were selected by the researcher. Findings imply that material or functional benefit of the high-priced apparel were not a critical determinant for choosing the brand. Rather, a socially well-established image for the brand name, especially in terms of psychological/symbolic appeal, played a more important role. This finding supported previous studies. Therefore, for high-priced men s wear, the role of promotion, including advertising or word of mouth, is critical; the image that advertisers should promote is one that characterizes the clothing, and ultimately the wearers, as dignified, legitimate, traditional, and upper class.