Fast Fashion Brand Extensions: An Empirical Study of Consumer Preferences

Original Article

Fast fashion brand extensions:

An empirical study of consumer
preferences
Received (in revised form): 17th January 2010
Tsan-Ming Choi
is an associate professor in Business Division, Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
His research areas focus on supply chain management and fashion branding. He has published in leading journals such
as Production and Operations Management, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, European Journal of Operational Research,
International Journal of Production Economics, Decision Support Systems and various other IEEE Transactions. He is an
editorial board member of journals such as IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics – Part A, and Journal of
Fashion Marketing and Management.

Na Liu
holds her Master and Bachelor degrees, respectively, from the Beijing University of Clothing Technology and Qingdao
University. Her research interests include mass customization, and supply chain management.
Shuk-Ching Liu
holds her MPhil and BA degrees from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research interests include branding,
retail marketing and consumer behavior.
Joseph Mak
holds his Bachelor and postgraduate diploma in Statistics from the University of Auckland. He was a research assistant at
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Yeuk-Ting To
holds her MA and BA degrees from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research interests include branding,
supply chain management and consumer behavior.
ABSTRACT This study examines the consumer behaviors and preferences towards
different kinds of extensions in fast fashion brands (FFBs). The study identifies six factors,
including brand loyalty, involvement, perceived quality, self-image, brand concept
consistency and product feature similarity, which may affect the consumer behaviors
towards brand extensions. An evaluation model was constructed. A questionnaire survey
was conducted with a sample size of 304 respondents. Questions were focused on the
respondents’ attitudes towards the general FFBs as well as their preferences towards
different brand extensions. The study includes statistical analyses to examine the data.
The study examines the hypotheses and offers managerial insights.
Correspondence: Journal of Brand Management (2010) 17, 472–487. doi:10.1057/bm.2010.8;
Tsan-Ming Choi
Room ST740, Business Division,
Institute of Textiles and Clothing,
published online 23 April 2010
The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong Keywords: brand extension; fast fashion; consumer behaviors; consumer preferences
© 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 17, 7, 472–487
www.palgrave-journals.com/bm/
Fast fashion brand extensions
INTRODUCTION including women’s wear, men’s wear, chil-

In today’s fast changing fashion world, fast dren’s wear and accessories. Apart from
fashion is one of the effective strategies to extending numerous apparel products, Zara
compete with the speedy change in the even extends to home furnishing products
industry. Fast fashion brands (FFBs) per- which is labeled as Zara Home in Muscat
form relatively better than other fashion City since 2003.12 Before planning for
brands in various aspects.1 According to a brand extension, it is crucial for FFBs
Fernie,2 ‘fast fashion is the strategy that to understand the consumer behaviors
retailers adopt in order to reflect current towards brand extensions of FFBs, and it
and emerging trends quickly and effectively is one of the main reasons for conducting
in current merchandise assortments. Fast this research.
fashion can also adapt to the newest fashion
trend, and produce products in a small
quantity to satisfy the teenage and young BRAND EXTENSIONS AND
ladies’.3 The authors summarize two stra- CONSUMER BEHAVIORS
tegic groups of frameworks of competition The most typical definition of brand exten-
in the textile and clothing sector, which sion is ‘the use of an established brand
lead to the emergence of fast fashion. The name to enter new product categories or
first group has the capability of forecasting classes’.13 Most recently, the American
and contributing to the molding of fashion Marketing Association14 states that brand
trend. The second group is the firms that extension is ‘a product line extension mar-
compete with one another on the basis of keted under the same general brand as
their ability to adjust rapidly to the latest a previous item or items’. Brand extension
fashion trends. These two groups form the is not a recent phenomenon and it has
basis for fast fashion. The concept of fast appeared in fashion market for a long
fashion is well developed in Europe because time.15 For example, haute couture brands
most of the fast fashion retailers, such as like Chanel and Gucci have to embrace
Zara, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), Next and accessories, jewelry and cosmetics under
Mango, are originated from Europe. This their own original brands.
concept is now a core of the UK fashion Brand extensions are classifiable into
industry.4 The main objective of launching two general forms, horizontal and vertical
this strategy is to reduce demand uncer- extensions. Kim et al16 state that horizontal
tainty,5 generate high consumption by brand extension involves the application
producing short-cycle fashion products of an existing brand name to a new product
close to and during the selling season.3,6 introduction, either in a similar product
Many researchers like Ko and Kincade,7 class or in a product category completely
Guercini,8 and Lee and Kincade9 explore new to the firm. Horizontal extension
this concept in Europe. Zara is the retailer includes line extension and category exten-
most renowned for this strategy. Many case sion. Under line extension, the parent
studies in the literature10 report how Zara brand creates a new product that targets
can operate on a lead time of 15 days or a new market segment within a product
less in Europe.11 category currently served by the parent
Brand extension is an effective and brand. This type of extension often invol-
well-observed strategy for FFBs to widen ves a different form or size, or a different
the market coverage and enlarge the clien- application for the brand.17,18 Category
tele. For instance, Zara and H&M extend extension refers to the case in which the
the product lines into different categories parent brand enters a product category,
© 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 17, 7, 472–487 473
Choi et al
which is different from that of the parent Consumer attitudes towards brand exten-
brand.18 sions can be affected by perceived fit,
Vertical extension involves introducing perceived quality, self-image, brand loyalty
a similar brand in the same product cate- and involvement.13,20–25 In the following
gory, but usually at a different price and parts, each of the factors would be studied
quality point. Giordano, a Hong Kong- by a process-based model named ‘Consumer
based fashion chain store, adopts vertical Evaluation Process Model for Fast Fashion
extension by introducing Blue Star. This Brand Extension’ (Figure 1) that will be
label sells similar merchandise as Giordano, applied to compare the difference of con-
but at a price level that is lower than that sumer evaluations among different exten-
of Giordano. As vertical brand extension sions of product lines in FFBs. Hypotheses
would differentiate the image and position would also be derived accordingly.
of the original brand, the use of the dis- This proposed model is based on
tancing technique can reduce the dilution Czellar,21 which states that consumers
of the core brand. Distancing techniques have already possessed established attitudes
are used to increase or decrease the per- towards the parent brand. Therefore, the
ceived distance between a core brand and first part of the model investigates the atti-
a brand extension. They are used to imply tudes towards FFBs, as shown in Figure 1.
a closer or more distant relationship between Four aspects are used to measure the atti-
the core brand and the vertical brand exten- tudes. These four factors can induce the
sion.16 Sheinin19 also postulates that the intention to evaluate the brand extension
company should introduce another name from the FFBs, and then this intention will
for the extensions so that the core brand form the attitudes towards the brand exten-
would not be jeopardized by the lower sions. When people evaluate the newly
positioning of the extensions. In the case extended product, the consumers would
of Giordano, the brand uses the distancing transfer the associations of the parent brand
technique by employing two different to the new product. Perceived fit can be
names such as Giordano and Blue star. measured by (i) brand concept consistency
Thus, the technique can present a distant and (ii) product feature similarity.13 The last
relationship between Giordano and Blue process of the model captures the consumer
Star. behaviors towards the brand extension,
Brand extension can be very cost effec- which can be measured by the purchase
tive in the short run. The introduction of and recommendation willingness of the
this strategy, however, would be risky.18 brand extensions.
He mentions that brand extension may
cannibalize the sales of the parent brand, Attitudes towards FFB
diminish identification with another cate-
gory, dilute the parent brand and confuse Brand loyalty
consumers. Thus, a brand should conduct Brand loyalty is a kind of affective com-
meticulous and sophisticated plans before mitment.26 Hansen and Hem22 point out
launching a brand extension strategy. The that if consumers’ affective commitment
success of brand extension greatly depends to a brand is high, it could motivate them
on how consumers perceive the extended to continue the relationship between the
product and whether the product can satisfy brand and themselves. Brand loyalty is a
their needs and wants; therefore, consumer multistage process, which involves image-
preferences towards brand extensions des- oriented loyalty, marketing-oriented loyalty
erve deep investigation. and then sales-oriented loyalty.27 Hem and
474 © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 17, 7, 472–487
Attitudes towards FFB

involvement levels would affect the com-
(i) Brand loyalty prehensiveness of the consumer decision
(ii) Involvement process and the communication process.
(iii) Perceived quality The individual consumer differs in the
(iv) Self-image extent of their decision process and infor-
mation searching that would be dependent
on the level of involvement.28 Extending
Intention to evaluate FFB brand extensions to the brand extensions aspect, the differ-
ence in the level of involvement would
Attitudes towards FFB brand extensions
affect the consumers to recognize and
Perceived fit evaluate the extensions faster or slower.
An observation from Steenkamp and
(i) Brand concept consistency
Baumgartner 25 reveals that an individual
(ii) Product features similarities
high versus low in perceived involvement
is more venturesome and willing to pur-
Consumer behavior towards FFB brand extensions chase new brands. Consumers’ involve-
Purchase and recommendation intention ment has been explicitly manipulated and
this factor affects the attitudes towards the
Figure 1: Consumer evaluation process model for fast original brand.29 Accordingly, we have the
fashion brand extensions.
following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: A higher level of involve-

23 ment of the original FFB implies a
Iversen adopt this approach to evaluate
the relationship between brand loyalty and higher intention of the consumers to
brand extensions. They discover that highly evaluate brand extensions.
affective relation towards the parent brand
might result in better evaluation of the
brand extensions, and loyal behavioral Perceived quality
intention towards the parent brand is an Aaker and Keller13 assert that quality per-
important factor for reaching a positive ception is one of the consumers’ evalua-
evaluation of the extension. On the basis tions factors towards brand extensions,
of the above literature findings, the study which is a very important brand associa-
includes testing the following hypothesis: tion. Perceived quality is a global assess-
ment of a consumer’s judgment about
Hypothesis 1: A higher level of brand the superiority of a product or a brand.30
loyalty of the original FFB implies a Under the Categorization Theory, the
higher intention of the consumers to brand association of the extensions would
evaluate brand extensions. be categorized with the previously defined
schema in the consumers’ mind, which
would enhance the consumers’ attitudes
Involvement towards brand extensions.31 According to
Laurent and Kapferer 28 state that involve- this theory, consumers would transfer the
ment is considered as an individual differ- quality perception of the original brand
ence variable and they propose five to the extension. Thus, the level of the
components that would affect the level of perceived quality of the original brand
involvement towards a product. Hansen would affect the evaluation of the extended
and Hem22 further prove that different product. If a brand has a higher level of
Choi et al
product quality, the consumers would form Attitudes towards FFB extensions
a more positive judgment and evaluation Consumers’ reaction to brand extensions
intention of the extensions. Accordingly, would be explained by the categorization
a hypothesis is established below: theory,24 which states that the newly
extended product is judged according to the
Hypothesis 3: A higher level of perceived suitability of its characteristics in the cate-
quality of the original FFB implies a gory (perceived fit). Perceived fit is classi-
higher intention of the consumers to fied by the number of shared associations
evaluate brand extensions. between the extensions and the original
brand.21 The degree of transferred associa-
Self-image tion to the extended product depends on
According to Liu and Choi (2010),32 the perceived fit between the brand and
fashion is a symbolic innovation, and it the extended products.13 Perceived fit of
reflects how people define themselves; the extensions with the brand is the major
therefore, fashion can show one’s person- factor in predicting the successfulness of
ality and self-expression. Hem and Iversen23 brand extensions, and this factor is highly
study the level of congruity between indi- significant to brand extensions.23 Park et al24
vidual consumers’ self-image and brands propose that the evaluation of consumer
personality traits, which would affect the attitudes towards brand extension is based
brand evaluation decision. Aaker33 defines on two different areas, (i) brand concept
a brand personality as ‘the set of human consistency, (ii) product feature similarity.
characteristics associated with a given
brand’, which includes such characteristics
as gender, age, socioeconomic class and Brand concept consistency
human personality. According to the Big Brand concept positions products in the
Five brand personality scale, Benetton is consumers’ mind, and might possess dif-
an excitement brand, whereas Nike is a ferent affective feeling to consumer for the
ruggedness brand.33 Aaker34 finds that same kind of product. Brand concept
individuals who identify themselves on a includes the brand-unique abstract mean-
particular personality dimension have a ings, and different from configuration of
greater preference for the brands that are product features. Park et al24 find that con-
highly descriptive of that dimension. Hem sumers who perceive a higher brand con-
and Iversen23 also realize the importance cept association with the extensions would
of self-image relationship towards the give potentially relevant and desirable con-
parent brand, and this would affect the nection to the parent brand. Martin et al35
intention to evaluate brand extensions. find that even if the extended product cat-
Hem and Iversen23 discover that a greater egory is different from the original prod-
congruency between the self-image of the ucts, the two distinct products may be seen
individual and the parent brand personality as fitting well together when their brand
would increase the evaluation of the exten- concept is highly consistent. Therefore,
sions. Therefore, we have: brand concept consistency is an important
factor in affecting the evaluation of the
Hypothesis 4: A higher level of congruency extended product. Accordingly, the fol-
between the self-image of the consumer lowing hypothesis is established:
and the image of the original FFB im-
plies a higher intention of the consum- Hypothesis 5: A higher degree of brand
ers to evaluate brand extension. concept consistency of brand extension
implies a more favorable brand exten- of a company, which would be transferred

sion evaluation by the consumers. and employed effectively in designing and
making the product extensions.13 The fol-
Product features similarities lowing hypothesis is hence proposed:
Aaker and Keller13 investigate the product
features similarities between the original Hypothesis 8: A higher degree of trans-
brand and the extensions and they define ferability of brand extension implies a
three aspects of the product features more favorable brand extension eval-
similarities, including (i) complementarity, uation by the consumers.
(ii) substitutability and (iii) transferability.
Complementarity is the extent to which
extensions and existing products share the METHOD
same usage context.24 Complementarity Empirical research method, which is one
shows the degree of the original product of the scientific research approaches, was
and the extended product that can be used used in this survey. A questionnaire survey
together. If the original FFB product and using the random sampling approach36 was
the extended product were available to the conducted on a sample size of 304 respond-
market, the customer would choose and ents who were the general public of Hong
use these two products together in order Kong. A street intercept interview approach
to satisfy their needs. Therefore, we have was adopted in a few famous shopping
malls that included Zara and other FFBs.
Hypothesis 6: A higher degree of com- The majority of the respondents, about 80
plementarity of brand extension imp- per cent, were aged between 21 and 35.
lies a more favorable brand extension About 70 per cent of the interviewees were
evaluation by the consumers. females and the remaining were males.37
The most renowned FFB – Zara was
Substitutability is the extent to which one selected to investigate. Three brand exten-
product can replace the other in satisfying sions of Zara are proposed in this survey.
the same need.13 The substitute product can Two brand extensions are horizontal exten-
satisfy the consumer need by replacing the sions, namely ‘Zara Sport’ (ladies’ sports-
other product. Providing that the original wear) and ‘Zara Music’ (electronic musical
fast fashion product and the extended product, like MP3 and earphone). The
product are available to the market, the other suggested extension is called ‘Zara
customer would choose either one which Moda’ (higher-end ladies’ wear), which
best-fits their needs. Thus, Hypothesis H7 can be categorized as vertical extension, and
is developed below: the variables employed in the questionnaire
were listed in Appendix A. The que-
Hypothesis 7: A higher degree of substi- stionnaire was divided into four sections,
tutability of brand extension implies a (i) general recognition of FFBs, (ii) product
more favorable brand extension eval- and brand attributes of FFBs, (iii) rela-
uation by the consumers. tionship between the consumers’ attitudes
towards FFBs and the intention to evaluate
Transferability is the degree to which the brand extensions, (iv) attitudes towards
the manufacturing skill that is required for FFB extensions and the consumers’ behav-
the extensions overlaps with what already iors towards brand extensions. Statistical
existed.24 This skill reflects the perceived tools include descriptive analysis38 to sum-
ability, including people, facilities and skills marize the product and brand attributes,
Choi et al
and correlation and regression38,39 to test important brand attributes were ‘interna-
the hypotheses. As a remark, the question- tional’ and ‘young’, respectively.
naire uses a 6-point scale in which 6 rep-
resents ‘strongly agree’ and 1 represents Consumers’ attitudes towards FFBs
‘strongly disagree’.40 With reference to Figure 1, four factors
would affect the consumers’ attitudes towards
DATA ANALYSIS FFBs and these factors would also influence
With regard to the recognition level of consumers’ intention to evaluate brand exten-
FFBs, 91 per cent of the respondents claim sions of FFBs.
to know at least one of the FFBs such as A reliability test 38 was employed in order
Zara, Mango and H&M. The results show to test the internal consistency of the factors.
that FFBs are very well known.41 In addi- The alpha values of brand loyalty, invol-
tion, these respondents have already pos- vement, perceived quality and self-image
sessed some perceptions towards the brand were 0.9, 0.8, 0.9 and 0.8, respectively. The
and the products. Thus, we believe that values were higher than 0.7, which means
they are able to answer the following parts that the reliability levels of the variables are
of the questionnaire. high enough to justify the factors.
Furthermore, Pearson correlation and
Product and brand attributes linear regression36 were employed to test
Respondents rank ‘stylish’ as the most dis- the hypotheses. The hypotheses testing
tinctive product attribute. ‘Fashion-led aimed at finding out the relationship
style’, ‘up-to-date’ and ‘numerous styles’ between the dependent variable and the
are the other major attributes. These results independent variable. The independent
might come from the marketing strategy of variable was the attitudes towards original
FFBs as they emphasize the speedy mer- FFBs, whereas the dependent variable was
chandise delivery time and follow the pre- the intention to evaluate the brand exten-
vailing fashion runway styles. With regard sions of FFBs. The level of significant was
to brand attributes, about two-thirds of set at 0.05.
respondents chose ‘trendy’ as the most out- As shown in Table 1, H1, H2 and H3
standing attribute. The second and third are supported, which means that the
Table 1: Summary of the hypotheses testing (attitudes towards FFBs)
Pearson R Square F-statistics P-value Hypothesis Standardized

correlation supported/ coefficient
(r) rejected (Beta)
H1: A higher level of brand loyalty of the original fast fashion brand implies 0.29 0.08 27.37 0.00 Supported 0.29
a higher intention of the consumers to evaluate the brand extensions.
H2: A higher level of involvement of the original fast fashion brand implies a 0.24 0.06 18.82 0.00 Supported 0.24
higher intention of the consumers to evaluate the brand extensions.
H3: A higher level of perceived quality of the original fast fashion brand 0.29 0.09 27.88 0.00 Supported 0.29
implies a higher intention of the consumers to evaluate the brand
extensions.
H4: A higher level of congruency between the self-image of the consumer 0.10 0.01 3.15 0.08 Rejected 0.10
and the image of the original fast fashion brand implies a higher
intention of the consumers to evaluate the brand extension.
F(1,303)=3.87 (0.05 sig. level).
Table 2: Reliability test results of perceived fit transferability (shown in Figure 1). Similar
Cronbach’s
to the previous analysis, Pearson correlation
and linear regression were employed to test
Zara Sport Zara Moda Zara Music
those hypotheses. The one-tail t-test was
Brand concept 0.78 0.81 0.84 adopted to test the hypotheses, and the level
consistency
of significance was set at 0.05.
Product feature 0.79 0.78 0.83
similarity Table 3 is the summary of the hypotheses
testing (H5–H8) considering Zara Sport, Zara
Moda and Zara Music. All the hypotheses
are supported by the three proposed exten-
relationship between consumers’ brand sions except substitutability.
loyalty, involvement, perceived quality and With regard to the importance level of
the evaluation intention of the brand exten- the factors, substitutability is proved to be
sion are positively correlated. H4 is rejected the least important factor in the three forms
and this result can conclude that there is of extensions. As for Zara Sport, the most
no relationship between consumers’ self- important factor affecting the consumers’
image and the intention to evaluate the attitudes towards FFB extension is transfer-
extensions. Table 1 also indicates the rela- ability, as Table 3 shows. With regard to
tive importance of the four factors in rela- Zara Moda and Zara Music, brand concept
tion to the evaluation intention of the consistency is the most distinctive factor in
brand extensions. Standardized regression affecting the consumers’ favorability towards
coefficient in the regression equation can the extensions.
be adopted to determine which of the inde-
pendent variables is more important. The DISCUSSIONS OF FINDINGS
most influential factor of the intention
evaluation is the perceived quality of FFBs, Attitudes towards FFBs and evaluation
and the second important factor is brand intentions of brand extensions
loyalty. Involvement and self-image are the Most of the hypotheses – H1 (brand loy-
least influential factors. alty), H2 (involvement) and H3 (perceived
quality) are supported, whereas H4 (self-
Consumers’ attitudes towards FFB image) is rejected. These results are con-
extensions sistent with the previous studies.22,23,29
This research investigates three extension Perceived quality is also an important factor
proposals of Zara, namely Zara Sport, Zara affecting the evaluation intention of brand
Moda and Zara Music. The study employs extensions, whereas self-image is the least
brand concept consistency and product fea- influential factor. This result is different
tures similarities to measure the consumers’ from the findings of Hem and Iversen,23
attitudes towards the extensions. Similar to who show that the congruency relationship
the previous part, a reliability test was con- between parent brands and consumers’
ducted. Table 2 reveals the results of the self-image increases the evaluation inten-
reliability test and the Cronbach’s 38 values tion of the extensions. This may relate to
are higher than 0.7. Therefore, the reliability the fact that consumers buy FFB products
levels of the variables are high enough. because of the product styles and designs,
Four factors support the need to investi- and that they may not care much about
gate the consumers’ behaviors towards the whether the brand extension matches their
extensions, including brand concept consist- image. Perceived quality is the most crucial
ency, complementarity, substitutability and factor in affecting the brand extensions
Choi et al
Table 3: Results of the hypotheses testing (attitudes towards brand extensions)
Pearson T-statistics P-value Hypothesis Standardized

correlation supported/ coefficient
(r) rejected (Beta)
Zara Sport
H5: A higher degree of the brand concept consistency of the brand extension 0.52 3.84 0.00 Supported 0.23
implies a more favorable brand extension evaluation by the consumers.
H6: A higher degree of the complementarity of the brand extension implies a 0.46 2.69 0.01 Supported 0.16
more favorable brand extension evaluation by the consumers.
H7: A higher degree of the substitutability of the brand extension implies a more 0.49 1.74 0.08 Rejected 0.11
favorable brand extension evaluation by the consumers.
H8: A higher degree of the transferability of the brand extension implies a more 0.55 4.52 0.00 Supported 0.27
Zara Moda
Zara Music
t(1,303)=1.97 (0.05 sign. level).
evaluation intention and the purchase deci- In an attempt to satisfy the consumers,
sion towards FFBs. As this factor is the heart FFBs should pay more attention and keep
of what customers are buying and as it is improving the product and service quality.
the bottom-line measure of the impact of The data also reveal that brand loyalty
brand identity,33 consumers use quality as significantly affects consumers’ purchase
the major determinant to evaluate perform- decision and evaluation intention of the
ance of FFBs, and they care about product extensions. FFBs should thus give more
quality more than whether FFBs can deliver special offers to the key account customers
a consistent self-image to them. so as to increase their brand loyalty.
Swaminathan42 also concludes that the research finds that brand concept consist-
level of the loyalty and experience with ency is relatively more important than
parent brands would affect the consumers’ other factors, and this is different from
purchasing behaviors of the subsequent Bhat and Reddy’s research.29 Brand con-
extensions. Next, providing more informa- cept is important to FFB extensions (both
tion on the FFBs is another way to com- horizontal and vertical). FFB managers
municate with their customers. Consumers should focus attention on the concept.
who are well informed would be more
familiar with the FFBs’ marketing strategy MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS AND
and pay more attention to their brands. CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of our survey findings, specific
Attitudes towards FFBs recommendations to FFBs are proposed.
Perceived fit between the core brand The research finds that perceived fit
and the extended brand contributes to the between FFBs and FFB extensions is related
consumers’ attitude towards brand exten- to the favorability of brand extension.
sions.21 Although the proposed brand exten- Therefore, we suggest the FFB managers
sions are in different forms, the results show keep consistent and similar images between
that there is no statistically significant rela- the parent brand and their extensions, so
tionship between the substitutability and the an umbrella branding strategy can be
favorability of brand extensions for all of adopted. This strategy delivers a consistent
them. This finding may relate to the nature message to the consumers.
of FFBs in which a large variety of designs In addition, FFBs can market their stylish
and products are provided.43 As a result, and fashion led products with reasonable
consumers think that the original and the pricing to the extended lines. This increases
extended products cannot replace one the general acceptance by FFB customers.
another in satisfying their needs. This strategy can further save costs in terms
Zara Sport is a form of horizontal exten- of brand development and marketing
sion, and transferability is the most impor- expenses.45
tant factor. With regard to horizontal Besides, FFBs should strengthen adver-
extension, the essential elements are the tising to promote their brand extensions.
quality and technological fits between the One way to increase the fit between the
core brand and the extended brand.44 parent brand and their extensions is to
Product features similarities of horizontal advertise two product lines in the same
extensions can improve the reputation and way.46 Advertising helps parent brands to
credibility of brand extensions of FFBs. increase brand recognition, and it also
Thus, managers should try to ensure the enhances the sales of the extended brands.
transfer of technology to the extensions, Advertising on extended lines also increases
and this can increase the favorability of the its acceptance by the public. Little47 rec-
Zara Sport when entering the market. ommends two types of advertisements of
Brand concept consistency is the most extensions. If the extension is characterized
important area in affecting the attitude as image-dominant fit and positive pur-
towards Zara Moda and Zara Music. Brand chase motivation, like Zara Moda, the high
concept is more accessible for the prestig- quality and design of the collection should
ious brands than for functional brands.24 be emphasized.
Bhat and Reddy29 report that parent brand Vertical extension is a way to upgrade
effect influences extension only with exten- the brand’s image, and the prestigious
sions of symbolic brands. However, this image of the brand has greater extendibility
Choi et al
across different product classes.24 Cus- mentioned in this article as a strategic group
tomers will think the different extensions is promising and interesting.
of prestigious brands are linked with an
accessible prestigious concept. Therefore, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FFBs can first launch vertical extension to We sincerely thank the editor and the
upgrade their brand image and then intro- anonymous reviewers for their constructive
duce further category extensions. This advice. This piece of research is partially
would lead to greater acceptance of the supported by the funding provided by
category extension. the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
With regard to the different forms of All authors have substantial contribution to
brand extensions, our research results show this article and the listing of authors follows
that a vertical extension, Zara Moda, obtains the alphabetical order of their surnames.
the largest consumers’ acceptance. This is The statistical analyses are conducted by
consistent with the literature in which Park Joseph Mak and Joan To.
et al24 support that vertical extension is a
way to upgrade the brands’ image, and the REFERENCES AND NOTES
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APPENDIX A
See Table A1.
Table A1: Measures of the variables in the questionnaire
Item Statements Cronbach’s
Brand loyalty 0.9

1. I have a positive affective feeling towards the fast fashion brands, like Zara and Mango.
2. The fast fashion brands like Zara and Mango have a personal meaning to me.
3. I consider myself loyal to these fast fashion brands.
4. I would be very happy to spend money on these fast fashion brands.
5. I would prefer to buy from these fast fashion brands than others fashion brands.
6. I enjoy discussing these fast fashion brands with other people.
7. I would like to recommend these fast fashion brands to the people I know.
8. I will continue to buy and use these fast fashion brands.
9. I would say positive things about these fast fashion brands to other people.
10. I would encourage friends and relatives to do shopping at these brands.
Involvement 0.8
1. I frequently search for more information about fast fashion brands via magazine or internet.
2. I am interested in those products in fast fashion brands.
3. It is not a big deal, if I make a wrong purchase decision from fast fashion brands. For examples,
wrong purchase decision of buying a wrong size.
4. I need a short decision time when I buy a fast fashion brand’s product.
5. I think fast fashion brand’s product can give me a pleasant feeling.
6. I think fast fashion brands give a special meaning to their product.
Perceived quality 0.9

1. The quality of most products I buy in fast fashion brands is as good as what I have expected.
2. I am satisfied with most of the products’ quality that I have bought and used in fast fashion brands.
3. The quality of the products I purchased has consistently improved over the years.
4. Most products I bought from a fast fashion brand can be used for long period of time.
5. Products are functioned as well as I expected.
6. Fast fashion companies care about how well their products perform.
Self-image 0.8
1. I have a clear picture of which type of person would use fast fashion brands.
2. I think fast fashion brands’ image is closely related to my self-image.
3. I think fast fashion brands’ image is closely related to my ideal self-image.
Intention to evaluate
If fast fashion brands such as Zara, Mango introduce a new product line, I will have intention to evaluate
(eg pay attention to the new lines, or consider buying the products from the new lines) these lines.
Table A1 continued
Item Statements Cronbach’s

Zara Sport Zara Moda Zara Music
Brand concept consistency 0.78 0.81 0.84
1. I think the product characteristics like product quality, style of those new product lines is similar
to the fast fashion brand (Zara).
2. I think the product image of those new product lines is similar to the fast fashion brand (Zara).
3. There is overlapping between the fast fashion brand product (Zara) and the new product line.
4. The new product line is a logical extension for the brand to launch.
Product features similarities 0.79 0.78 0.83

1. The new product lines and the original products were complements that they could be used
together in certain usage to satisfy my particular need.
2. The new product lines and the original products were substitutes that they would select between
in certain usage situations to satisfy my particular need.
3. I think that the people, facilities and skills used in developing, refining and making the original
product be helpful if the company were to make the new product lines.
Purchase and recommendation willingness 0.84 0.77 0.73

1. If you were planning to buy sportswear/higher-end clothing/electronics’ product, would you like
to choose fast fashion brands?
2. If a friend was looking for a product of these types, would you advise him or her to purchase
extended brands from the fast fashion brand?
APPENDIX B shown in Table B2, H1, H2, H3 and H4 are

rejected. However, please notice that those
Analysis via structured equation hypotheses are all rejected because a problem
modeling (SEM) known as multicollinearity arises. Multicol-
Structural equation modeling (SEM) was linearity arises because the brand loyalty,
employed in order to find out the relation- involvement and perceived quality of the
ship between the dependent variables and original FFB and the congruency between
the independent variable. The independent the self-image of the consumer and the image
variables were the attitudes towards FFBs of the original FFB are highly correlated,
and the attitudes towards brand extension, which actually means that the corresponding
whereas the dependent variable was the SEM analysis is invalid. Thus, for the analysis
intention to evaluate brand extensions of of (H1–H4), we would employ the original
FFBs. Table B1 is the summary of the cor- approach instead of the SEM.
relations between the attitudes towards Tables B (a) and (b) show the summary
FFBs and Table B2 is the summary of the of the hypotheses testing (H5–H8) considering
hypotheses testing (H1–H4) about the atti- Zara Sport, Zara Moda and Zara Music.
tudes towards FFBs. For Table B2, the level Similar to the previous analysis, in Tables B
of significance was set at 0.05. (a) and (b), the test based on critical ratio
According to the result being shown in was adopted to test the hypotheses and the
Table B1, the brand loyalty, involvement level of significance was set at 0.05. According
and perceived quality of the original FFB and to the result being shown in Table B3,
the congruency between the self-image of hypotheses H5 and H6 are supported by
the consumer and the image of the original the extension Zara Music (in B3 (b)). Hypo-
FFB are all highly positively correlated. On thesis H8 is supported by the extension Zara
the other hand, according to the result being Sport. With regard to the importance level
Choi et al
of the factors, substitutability is proved to be consistency and complementarity are the

the least important factor in the three forms important factors that affect the consumers’
of extensions. For Zara Sport, the most attitudes towards FFB extension. Brand con-
important factor affecting the consumers’ cept consistency affects the consumers’ atti-
attitudes towards FFB extension is transfer- tudes towards FFB extension more when
ability. For Zara Music, both brand concept comparing with complementarity.
Table B1: Summary of the correlations between the attitudes towards FFBs
Pearson’s correlation (r)
Correlation between the brand loyalty and involvement of the original fast fashion brand. 0.87
Correlation between the involvement and perceived quality of the original fast fashion brand. 0.73
Correlation between the perceived quality of the original fast fashion brand and the congruency between the self-image of 0.80
the consumer and the image of the original fast fashion brand.
Correlation between the brand loyalty and perceived quality of the original fast fashion brand. 0.71
Correlation between the brand loyalty of the original fast fashion brand and the congruency between the self-image of the 0.78
consumer and the image of the original fast fashion brand.
Correlation between the involvement of the original fast fashion brand and the congruency between the self-image of the 0.88
consumer and the image of the original fast fashion brand.
Table B2: Summary of the hypotheses testing (attitudes towards FFBs)
Critical ratio P-value Hypothesis Standardized

supported/ coefficient (Beta)
rejected
H1: A higher level of brand loyalty of the original fast fashion brand implies a 0.30 0.76 Rejected 0.04
H2: A higher level of involvement of the original fast fashion brand implies a higher 0.53 0.60 Rejected 0.12
intention of the consumers to evaluate the brand extensions.
H3: A higher level of perceived quality of the original fast fashion brand implies a − 0.53 0.60 Rejected − 0.06
H4: A higher level of congruency between the self-image of the consumer and 0.98 0.33 Rejected 0.20
the image of the original fast fashion brand implies a higher intention of the
consumers to evaluate the brand extension.
Table B3: Summary of the hypotheses testing (attitudes towards brand extensions)

rejected
(a)
Zara Sport
H5: A higher degree of the brand concept consistency of the brand extension 1.33 0.19 Rejected 0.09
H6: A higher degree of the complementarity of the brand extension implies a 1.70 0.09 Rejected 0.09
Table B3 continued

rejected
H7: A higher degree of the substitutability of the brand extension implies a 1.58 0.11 Rejected 0.11
H8: A higher degree of the transferability of the brand extension implies a 6.01 0.00 Supported 0.47
Zara Moda
H5: A higher degree of the brand concept consistency of the brand extension − 1.73 0.08 Rejected − 0.10
H6: A higher degree of the complementarity of the brand extension implies a 0.63 0.53 Rejected 0.03
(b)
Zara Moda
H7: A higher degree of the substitutability of the brand extension implies a 1.73 0.08 Rejected 0.12
H8: A higher degree of the transferability of the brand extension implies a − 1.42 0.16 Rejected − 0.10
Zara Music
H5: A higher degree of the brand concept consistency of the brand extension 2.14 0.03 Supported 0.12
H6: A higher degree of the complementarity of the brand extension implies 2.87 0.00 Supported 0.18
a more favorable brand extension evaluation by the consumers.
H7: A higher degree of the substitutability of the brand extension implies − 2.66 0.01 Rejected − 0.17
H8: A higher degree of the transferability of the brand extension implies − 2.47 0.01 Rejected − 0.16

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Original Article

Fast fashion brand extensions:

INTRODUCTION including women’s wear, men’s wear, chil-

Attitudes towards FFB

Hypothesis 2: A higher level of involve-

implies a more favorable brand exten- of a company, which would be transferred

Table 1: Summary of the hypotheses testing (attitudes towards FFBs)

Pearson R Square F-statistics P-value Hypothesis Standardized

F(1,303)=3.87 (0.05 sig. level).

Table 3: Results of the hypotheses testing (attitudes towards brand extensions)

Pearson T-statistics P-value Hypothesis Standardized

t(1,303)=1.97 (0.05 sign. level).

See Table A1.

Table A1: Measures of the variables in the questionnaire

Item Statements Cronbach’s

Brand loyalty 0.9

Perceived quality 0.9

Item Statements Cronbach’s

Product features similarities 0.79 0.78 0.83

Purchase and recommendation willingness 0.84 0.77 0.73

APPENDIX B shown in Table B2, H1, H2, H3 and H4 are

of the factors, substitutability is proved to be consistency and complementarity are the

Pearson’s correlation (r)

Table B2: Summary of the hypotheses testing (attitudes towards FFBs)

Critical ratio P-value Hypothesis Standardized

Critical ratio P-value Hypothesis Standardized

Critical ratio P-value Hypothesis Standardized

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