Developing Lifestyle Retail Brands

As consumers we all know that brands are ubiquitous in our lives. Think of a product or
service we need and invariably a few brand names come to our mind. We have got so
used to using brand names as a short-hand for ‘trust’ in the product i.e. the product will
‘deliver’ on the ‘promise’ implicit in the brand. On the supply side, the dream of every
entrepreneur is to ‘create’ a brand; creating a brand being considered synonymous with
business success. In this article I focus upon retail brands as different from product
brands, and identify what is required to create retail brands with emphasis on ‘lifestyle’
retail brands.

What is a retail brand?

Compare a Zara with a Rivoli. Zara is an fashion-forward apparel retailer that sells only
Zara (own) branded merchandise whereas Rivoli sells a range of branded (all brands sold
by Rivoli belong to others) merchandise (watches, pens, jewelry, eyewear, and leather
products etc.). The goal of both retailers is to create a distinctive identity associated with
their brand that is recalled by consumers when the need to buy products of their particular
category is aroused i.e. Zara succeeds as a retail brand when Zara comes into the choice
set of the targeted customer whenever they need to buy apparel. Rivoli succeeds
whenever customers think of Rivoli as a place to shop for stylish accessories independent
of the brands that it carries. Rivoli would fail the test of a retail brand if people think of
Rivoli as a place to visit to shop for selective brands that it sells i.e. the outlet is a
wholesaler’s outlet. Rivoli’s has strenuously worked to create its own identity over the
years e.g. the ‘In Style In Store’ logo, and the continuing campaign. The goal of every
retailer is to create a brand identity with which consumers can identify with, and develop
organizational processes and systems that deliver the identity consistently. The outcome
of this strategy should be reflected in increased frequency of visits, increased shopping
basket size, and price premiums. Retailers have a choice, either to create an identity that
they wish their store to have or by default consumers will develop an image that may be
inconsistent with what the retailer desires to project, with detrimental consequences.

To develop a working plan to create a retail brand we start by identifying the dimensions
of a brand (see table 1). The dictionary defines a brand as an ‘identifying mark’ or trade-
mark on a product or service. The American Marketing Association extends this
definition by adding two criteria – one, identifying the nature of trade mark as a logo as a
visual feature (e.g. name, sign, symbol, or design), and two, identifying what the
identifying mark achieves i.e. differentiates the goods of one seller from its competitors.
Brands are the visible face of the company, and often reflect the corporate personality i.e.
what the company truly is (Toyota as an environmentally sensitive company as different
from General Motors). For consumers brands serve as shorthand information for taking
speedier purchase decisions (e.g. buying fruits and vegetables from Spinneys) or
influencing decision-making when confronted with complex choice making amongst
brands (e.g. buying a high value domestic appliance from Carrefour or stand-alone
independent specialty retailer). Residual brand names in memory serve as a summary of
all mental ideas / images and / or direct experiences with the brand, both as information
about the brand and feelings associated with the brand experience. Brands also aid in
reducing consumer perception of risk-of-use (i.e. product not meeting expected
performance) by use of guarantees or promising quality (e.g. returns policy of a retail
store). As we move into the domain of ‘residual’ brand image in the minds of consumers,
a consumer-centric ways of looking at brands starts to emerge. Brands are not what brand
owners want them to be. It is more important to understand what brands ‘mean’ to
consumers or what is the consumer’s view of the brand. A Louis Vuitton hand bag or a
Bulgari watch not only serves the functional role expected of a handbag (or a watch) but
also creates a ‘feeling’ of possession of something unique and valuable (limited edition),
and is used to express (communicate) to others an image and identity of the owner
(wealth, artistic taste, etc.) in the social fraternity. A brand is therefore what consumers
perceive it as with its functional utility (i.e. what it does or need it serves), psychological
attributes (i.e. brand image), and symbolic meaning (i.e. meaning for brand buyer). This
is the concept of brands as an ‘identity.’ The identity that consumers seek to project
through the consumption of brands is influenced by their cultural values (what the brand
means in the cultural context e.g. a Louis Vuitton bag means something in a social setting
where the brand is understood by many or using ), symbolic and functional values
associated with people using the product (i.e. personality of the brand and the personality
consumers want to project – use of brand label accessories with brand names emblazoned
on the products or buying a Harley Davidson), feeling that brand is an expression of a
relationships with a company (e.g. possessing and using an American Express card that is
used by well known personalities is perceived as belonging to a select group), and
imbuing (through attribution) brands with value to pay a premium beyond their functional
and symbolic value (buying a Bentley).

Table 1 What is a brand? 1

What is a brand? How does it exist? Brand utility
A physical Legal identity as a
identity in a legal trademark, logo, design Prevents others from copying
context etc.
Enables recognition and differentiation by customers
Logo, design, As a logo, design, through visual identity. With investment and over
symbol, etc. symbol, etc. time brand starts to connote values like quality,
innovation etc.
Exists in the minds of
stakeholders (customers,
Brand as employees, banks, etc.)
corporate as being synonymous Strong differentiation
identity with corporate values
espoused and perceived
by stakeholders
Exists in the minds of
As a ‘shorthand’ consumers as image / Influences consumer choice process
repository of idea / direct experiences
information - as a summary of all A positive brand feelings / experience leads to a belief
about the experiences with the that the brand will deliver on the ‘promise’ – brand
product brand – as information trust
and feelings

1
Partially adapted from Leslie de Chernatony and Francesca Dall’Olmo Riley, “Defining a “Brand”: Beyond the Literature with
Experts Interpretations” Journal of Marketing 1998
 Brand as Exists in the minds of As functional utility – serves the need for which it
‘meaning’ to consumers was purchased
consumers
With the psychological attributes – associated with
the image of the brand

As an ‘identity’ for the consumer – what using the

brand means for the consumer
Brand Exists in the minds of Could be based upon social and cultural norms,
consumption as consumers – as an symbolic values perceived to be associated with the
consumer expression of self or as a brand, brand acquisition and use as a means of
‘identity’ reflection of what others belonging to a cherished group, and attribution of
perceive value to the brand

What is a lifestyle retail brand?

The concept of Lifestyle Retail Brands is derived from the premise that consumption of
brands has symbolic meaning, beyond the functional utility, and can often serve the
purpose of creating or expressing a social ‘identity’ for a consumer. A Lifestyle Retail
Brand (LRB) is created when a retailer creates a retail brand around the lifestyles of a
target market segment. The concept of DIY (do-it-yourself) for home improvement is a
classic example of an LRB. So how is it different from a normal hardware store? In a
DIY store the retail offer is engineered to closely reflecting the needs and lifestyle of the
target consumer segment – a father and / or mother who wish to do home repair or create
new extensions to a home as a participative family project. The fact that the concept hit
home was the emergence of the Home Improvement soap on TV, and the emergence of
Home Depot and Lowe’s as billion dollar companies. Ace Hardware in the Middle East is
just starting to re-position itself as a LRB by experimenting with small format stores. In a
lifestyle retail brand the basic retail proposition is augmented with a set of values that
have symbolic value and meaning for the lifestyles (how they dress, how they think, how
they behave, what they do, and what views they hold on life, etc.) of the specific
consumer group. A visit to the large format Ace hardware store (Dubai Festival City) on
any day would reinforce this proposition. It would be obvious that it is the integration of
the lifestyle of the consumer into the retail format that distinguishes Ace as a lifestyle
brand from other hardware retail stores in Deira. Burberry is another brand that
metamorphosed from a purveyor of the staid check to a LRB, a must-have for fashion-
conscious. I was involved in bringing Burberry to the region, and observed the
transformation later at close quarters. Ikea (Dubai Festival City) is another Lifestyle
brand. Old Navy emerged from Gap catering to the hip-hop generation. Old Navy in
Dubai is a pale shadow of the original but more on this later.

To reinforce the difference between a brand and a LRB one can contrast two brands in
the same category – Cross and Mont Blanc. Cross is a very well engineered pen, a pen
that functions very well, and the first to offer a genuine lifetime warranty. Mont Blanc, on
the other hand, started as a writing instrument but has been developed into a LRB over
the past few years with launch of exclusive Mont Blanc boutiques and extensions into
accessories like leather, watches, eyewear, and jewelry. The Mont Blanc star logo has
been embraced by consumers as an expression of their style and taste manifested in their
willingness to use products exposing the logo.

Developing lifestyle brands

Core processes in the creation of a LRB are the consumers’ experiences of the brand. The
consumer experiences are embedded in and shaped by the larger social, cultural and
demographic context. Rather it is the changes in the social and cultural context that
influence consumer values, attitudes, and behavior that creates the niche opportunities for
the emergence of LRBs. A striking feature of the Mall of the Emirates (opened in 2005)
in Dubai is the large number of stores catering to furniture and interiors as compared to
Deira City Center (Opened 1995-6). The change in the real estate ownership law created
a huge demand for furniture, interior design, tableware, silver and crystal etc. as residents
had a place to call their own and could now ‘use’ their home to express themselves – the
symbolic element of consumption. The One, emerged in the last decade, and is now re-
positioned as a lifestyle store.

The starting point for developing a LRB is an understanding that it is a ‘lifestyle’ that
forms the logic underpinning consumption behavior. It is the image or identity in the
lifestyle that has ‘meaning’ for the consumer, and when the retailer provides this value
through the retail concept, and it is understood as such by the consumer that a LRB is
successful. Let me differentiate a retail store selling furniture and table ware from a LRB
doing the same. We as consumers create our lifestyle by buying goods from various
stores and assembling them on our own to project our identity. Retailers can add value by
helping consumers by buying assortments and displaying them so that the lifestyle is
‘experienced’ at the store, either reinforcing or shaping consumers’ lifestyle. Tanagra
continues to be a store that is the presentation of brands. We as consumers have to
visualize how the artistic value of the brands will add up. Whereas TableArt was
launched by Rivoli to present china, crystal, glass, and silver in a lifestyle format. A
challenge considering the format size. But try any of these stores and ask for help in
creating a unique table setting using different brands in the store. We as consumers have
to do it all by ourselves. Crate and Barrel in the USA is a good example of a LRB in the
similar category where sales personnel are trained to assist customers in developing
unique product combinations to suit their lifestyle needs.

The key challenge of creating an LRB is like the challenge of creating any other retail
brand – a clear customer focus on the target customer group with an acute / perceptive
clarity of ‘lifestyle’ as a basis of differentiation. It will be necessary to clearly articulate
what are the customers looking for as ‘lifestyle’ and what are the limitations of the
existing offerings in terms of the elements of marketing mix – product / merchandise
characteristics, quality of customer service, quality of customer communication through
multiple media, pricing of offers, and design of trading format. The best way to do this to
walk the market as a consumer and ‘sense’ what a consumer would experience as a
customer in the existing retail offerings. It is after all consumer perceptions of the retail
marketing mix that are important for identifying a niche for a LRB. It is here where many
brands trip, a lack of consistency in the elements of the retail-mix as experienced. Even
some international brands that pride themselves as being Lifestyle brands in their country
of origin appear not to have implemented their Middle East regional strategy in sync with
their global concept e.g. Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Polo / Ralph Lauren.

Once a distinctive lifestyle niche is identified it then becomes necessary to define in

detail various elements of what constitutes as the lifestyles of the target group. A
simplistic example using two examples from the same category – Calvin Klein and
Nayomi. Calvin Klein as an underwear brand emerged at a time when the lines between
innerwear and outerwear were blurring. As innerwear, for both men and women, started
to become visible to others, it also became expressive of the ‘individual.’ Calvin Klein
appeared to have based its strategy on this lifestyle dimension, amongst others. Nayomi,
on the other hand, sensitive to the need of conservative dressing even within the family
home, introduced a range of loungewear into lingerie boutiques. It is from the detailing of
the lifestyle dimensions that retail marketing mix will need to be developed. Here again
one needs to exercise caution. Traditionally retailers take a product oriented view of
retail-mix and just add value-added services around the product e.g. interior design
consultation for an interiors company. For lifestyle brands, a retailer needs to create or
influence a consumer lifestyle, and consumers participate in creating the LRB, before
detailing the marketing-mix we need to start with questions like - what consumers’ will
do with the product, what will be their experience of the product consumption, can I
create an experience at the store to enable consumers experience the consumption, what
may be the symbolic value of consuming the brand [self-enhancement, group
membership, self-expression, and social recognition] etc. Amongst the elements of the
retail-mix I want to focus upon the importance of communication strategies for LRBs.
LRBs’ exist in and derive their existence from the broader social and cultural milieu.
LRBs’ usually make use of important forms of expression of popular culture to create
(promote the adoption of) and influence consumers’ perception (as opinion leader) of the
lifestyle brand as it is consumed. The award ceremonies all over the world (Oscar,
Cannes, etc.), brand launch functions, Fashion TV, etc. reflected in the magazines like
GQ, Vogue, People, OK, Hello, etc. are but brand promotion exercises consciously
engineered by the brand owners. Equivalent clones of the festivals, award ceremonies,
magazines, etc. exist in every country and culture.

In addition to the communication the role of store staff in LRBs is also very important.
They need to be able to demonstrate, communicate, and help the consumer experience the
lifestyle elements of the LRB. Polo / Ralph Lauren has been positioned as an exclusive
world of aristocratic style; gentleman’s club and country house et al. Part of the
experience is to shop in the store where the staff are expected to help consumers put the
lifestyle together and even learn how to live it. It is this experience that seems to missing
in Dubai.

Criteria for brand success

The ultimate test of successful development of a LRB is the consumer. A brand doesn’t
exist purely as a consequence of the different actions undertaken by the brand owner. It
also exists in the minds of consumers, as understood by them and as ‘constructed during
use’ by them. A brand can, therefore, be considered as a continuous process, a process
where the firm (brand owner) starts with a set of ideas and beliefs that it desires in its
brand, and undertakes actions (the elements of the marketing mix) to position the brand -
create a desired brand image / brand personality / brand identity in target consumers. The
outcome of the marketing actions and consumers brand experience will be interpreted by
consumers from their own perspective, as consistent with their own functional and
emotional needs, and self image. The interpretation by consumers may often be different
from what the firm desired. It will then be necessary for the firm to monitor and narrow
the gap between firm objectives and consumer perceptions by modifying elements of the
marketing-mix actions. The diagram 1 captures the cyclical process of brand
development.

Diagram 1 – Brand creation as a cycle

Conclusions

Lifestyle Retail Brands have complex functional, emotional and symbolic characteristics,
and sensitivity to all these is critical to the successful creation of a LRB. It is the
symbolic dimension of the LRB that distinguishes a LRB from any other retail brand, and
based upon consumption of which consumers derive ‘meaning’ and a sense of ‘identity’
in the larger social, economic, and cultural context. Consumers co-create LRBs jointly
with retailers, and developing LRBs requires a perceptive insight into changes that are
occurring in the larger social, economic, demographic, and cultural context to first
identify emergent niches, and then develop an appropriate retail marketing mix to create
the brand.

© Manoj Nakra July 2006