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usually called the upper middle and India two (serving class) includes people likedrivers, household helps, office peons, liftmen, washer men, etc. They are the people whomake life easier and more comfortable for the consuming class or India One. For everyIndia One there are at least three India Twos, making up almost 55% of the population.But India One doesn’t care to pay India Two too well. While their numbers are huge theystill have disposable income to spend on buying aspirational products and services.Then there is the struggling class or India Three, which lives a hand –to-mouth existenceand cannot afford to even aspire for a better living. Unfortunately, this segment willcontinue to be on the peripheries of the consumption cycle in India for quite a few years tocome. Their needs cannot be addressed by the business models”.From the interviews it was observed that Upper middle class popularly called as the‘socialites’ or India One are becoming more and more brand conscious. They considerpossession of global brands as status symbols which give them self identity. This is veryevident from responses like “People don’t admit it-but I feel Global brands can becorrelated to symbols of identity and status”In relation to the findings of Tam and Tai it can be concluded that India Two could becalled as ‘‘Achievers’- who valued achievement and materialism, and they are more keenon luxuries that they constituted a special hub and India One the upper middle class can becalled as ‘Strivers’- very materialistic and immersed in an aggressive pursuit ofachievement.4.4Theme Four: Impact of Culture on Consumption PatternsCulture amongst the Indians depicted status, gratitude, approval and disapproval whichwere consistent with the findings of Usunier (2000). India represents a collectivist societywhere people are seen as not fully separable: they are connected to other people by amultiple of overlaps and links). They come to represent the interdependent selveswherein identity lies in familial and social relationships and they tend to move in theirsocial circles. Class and Status also need to be maintained in the social circles in whichone moves. This was very evident from responses of consumers when asked how muchConsumer perceptions of Global and Local Brands in the Indian retail Industry 50
does culture affect their purchase decisions?. Responses like “One always has in mindtheir culture and styles of living so one will always buy products that suit that.”“When I go shopping...particularly for clothes I sometimes do have to keep in mindwhat the neighbour will think… like picking up short clothes for instance and shop ...Imean we live in a society which has certain norms and conducts. I rather stick bythem”“I am a completely brand conscious person ...Cause people really notice what brandsyour wearing. If I enter a party the first thing that I am asked is oh so what brand isyour watch….I guess it’s the people you move around with make you all the morebrand conscious” confirm that Indian culture is subjected to status, gratitude, approvaland disapproval.Due to travelling and exposure a lot of Indians are exposed to the host culture and havebegun to acculturate and adopt its norms and behaviour (Douglas and Craig, 1997).“Culture does play some part while buying the brands in the U.K. You get use to theplace you stay in and you tend to follow what’s happening there” replied a respondentfrom Chandigarh studying in the U.K. It was noticed that Indian consumer’s seeked toemulate Western consumption practices and lifestyles which are consistent with thefindings of Peterson and Jolibert (1995). It was noticed among the respondents that due totravel and exposure more Indians have started becoming aware of global brands but theywould yet purchase brands that are recognised in their social groups.If given a choice between Dior and Chloe, I would rather purchase Dior as it is morerecognised back home, particularly the social group that I hang out with’.Hence it can be concluded that culture and acculturation leads to westernisation ofconsumption patterns which affects brand image (H4) and hence global brands areperceived to have a higher image.4.5Theme Five: Materialism and Social IdentityIn India the collectivist culture is at its peak. It was observed from the respondent’sreplies that Indians tend to identify themselves not on the basis of personal identity butConsumer perceptions of Global and Local Brands in the Indian retail Industry 51
Page 1: “Consumer Perceptions of Global a
Page 6: Chapter OneIntroduction1.1. Introdu
Page 9 and 10: which lead consumers towards global
Page 11 and 12: Antecedents Intermediaries Conseque
Page 16 and 17: etter product and service quality,
Page 18 and 19: design, technical engineering skill
Page 20 and 21: esearchers. They highlighted five d
Page 22 and 23: findings of this study by describin
Page 24 and 25: perceptions, cognitions, evaluation
Page 26 and 27: In today’s increasingly competiti
Page 28 and 29: that they had frequently purchased.
Page 30 and 31: (Culture)Product QualitySteenkamp e
Page 32 and 33: Javalgi, R., White. D.(2002), “ S
Page 34 and 35: Values Orientations forMaterialism
Page 36 and 37: Semi structured interviews of execu
Page 38 and 39: One the desire to acquire wealth an
Page 40 and 41: only the upper middle classes who r
Page 42 and 43: nature were then grouped together u
Page 44 and 45: 3.9SummaryThis chapter clearly outl
Page 46 and 47: globally...so why pay for local des
Page 48 and 49: consumers which were in relation to
Page 52 and 53: social identity. Respondents tended
Page 54 and 55: Due to westernisation of consumptio
Page 56 and 57: categories, income strata, etc...Bu
Page 58 and 59: class visits hypermarkets and disco
Page 60 and 61: the US. The fact is it has an appro
Page 62 and 63: think the best opportunities are in
Page 64 and 65: ReferencesAaker, D. (1991), “Usin
Page 66 and 67: Kotler et al, (2004). Marketing Pri
Page 68 and 69: AppendixBackground of RespondentsCo
Page 70 and 71: 6. Do you think that localretailers
Page 72 and 73: A TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEW OF A INDIAN
Page 74 and 75: 7. What do you think is the main di
Page 76 and 77: whole lot of new investors. So even
Page 78: 8. Do the Indian Consumers suffer f

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