Brand Names: Care to comment?

[bsodmike]

Hi folks,

This 'issue' has been rattling around my head quite a bit and thought it would be nice to put and end to it by getting your opinion on the matter

I was browsing last week at my usual haunt and thought I'd get myself another wallet since I could put my current Montblanc wallet to a different use, and stopped by the LV boutique to end up walking out with a couple goodies.

Later that week, I took my Mom to a different LV boutique and got her a couple gifts (including a bag) and left most of it with our SA for them to be hot stamped.

What attracted me to their goods was that some of the patterns were down played without much branding (the Utah series especially) and quality of what we got did not call for any complaints.

Normally I could careless about some brand names, especially those such as D&G, DKNY, that Calvin chap's tighty whities and what have you...and never really cared much for LV either.

I normally stick to my favourites: Lanvin, Hemes, Montblanc, Valentinos, and a few others - those that I am familiar with.

It's just that I've seen many folks roll their eyes when they hear the name LV...which actually...looks similar when one says 'Rolex' ...so um...what makes folks react in this way?

Is it that they think these brand names are silly or...am I missing the point?

(as you can imagine, I'm in an odd place right now having recovered from having a high fever/stomach bug for two days. I may simply be rambling... LOL).

[IBM]

Mike, you're not so much a brand whore as someone who operates at a level where big brands are part of your every day life......Very similar to my wife, who operated at such levels until she married me and I put an end to it

There's a considerable class divide when it comes to brands, so there's people who can't afford the brands, but buy them anyway, because they think that it makes them better than other people, or because they like the uniqueness of particular items, or because they genuinely believe that a product is inherently better (production quality or functionality) than something that isn't branded. Then there are those like yourself who simply shop at those types of store because they've grown up doing it, and don't carry the inherent prejudices of people who haven't.

Got to laugh at the 'I could care less about brand names....I stick to my favourites, Hermes, Montblanc, Valentinos'...

[schmunk]

You are such a label mabel, Mike.

[kalniel]

Are you behind all those BrandIndex surveys I get through YouGov??

I think you can answer your own question actually. You have your 'usual' brands that you like (because you associate them with some kind of positive value), and you have other brands that you say you couldn't care less for. Everyone else does the same to some extent and voila you have different opinions towards different brands.

[bsodmike]

Got to laugh at the 'I could care less about brand names....I stick to my favourites, Hermes, Montblanc, Valentinos'...

Oooops! It should have read, 'I could care less about some brand names....'

[TheAnimus]

The time i get stuck with brands is normally lazyness, not something i think i should be proud of.

There are also certain assumptions that people make with branding around class. The classic i will nick from the economist Tom Harfod, supermarkets. Some assume that supermarkets like safeways are always cheaper, than others like wholefoods. He points out this isn't the case as such because each one tends to cater for a specific audiance, the shopper at one might consider a red onoin to be exotic, whilst at another its a staple. The up selling happens of different items, meaning what is a luxury item at one, is a staple at another.

This effect can be seen in the UK with orange juice. If you buy a premium brand orange juice at Tesco, it costs more than at Waitrose. Even thou on the whole Waitrose is probably more expensive than Tesco for 'generic brand grade' orange juice.

This is an intresting point in brands, people get used to certain qualities associated with a brand. For instance apple users are generally used to been completely ripped off, they just accept this as par for the course.

I think often its only when people start living away from home, supporting thmselfs entirely they see really where brand allegance lives. I find it quite staggering that some friends of mine will spend £500 on a bag, the friend in question can't be earning more than £30k. But its obviously worth that to her purely because of the brand. The fact is my comparatively cheap manbag is of a much better build quality (as i wanted something i could lug bohemoth 1000 page books around in).

This is an intresting thing about brands in my mind been a bad thing, in the supermarket example it could be a real time saver for finding someone who provides your mix of cost + value. In the bag example i'm still staggered someone who earns 1/3rd of what I do, is willing and able to spend 5 times as much on a bag, which is of LESSER quality.

I guess thats where brand loyalty comes in.

[staffsMike]

I don't think I own any brand lable clothes, expect trainers lol

I really couldn't care less about it actually. I just wear what I think looks OK and trainers I like to have nice ones for comfort and quality more than anything. I do have a fair few pair's of DC's and iPath trainers for this reason.. and that they look quite good lol

[med2003]

I have some special <Enter your favourite brand here> magic beans if you'd like them? Going cheap.... &#163;2000 for you guv.

[sammyc]

Partly I think to do with the backlash over branding in general - things have turned more from buying a 'top' brand & having it convey that you have good taste/superiority etc (even if that isn't your reason for buying whatever it is), to a perception that maybe it's a bit tasteless to be over-obsessed with brands. Also association of certain brands with dubious celebrities, and the amount of copies, is going to have an effect on people's perception of exclusivity.
These days I think you score more of a cool factor by having less to do with branding (I don't, so I would say that ), especially the type TheAnimus is talking about where you are buying something on brand alone, regardless. Obviously if you are buying favoured makes and for other reasons such as quality then that's up to you but I don't think they carry the kudos they did, so for some people maybe brands like LV now equate more to a stereotype of poshness/name-dropping.

[bsodmike]

Partly I think to do with the backlash over branding in general - things have turned more from buying a 'top' brand & having it convey that you have good taste/superiority etc (even if that isn't your reason for buying whatever it is), to a perception that maybe it's a bit tasteless to be over-obsessed with brands. Also association of certain brands with dubious celebrities, and the amount of copies, is going to have an effect on people's perception of exclusivity.

That's an interesting point to note; like anything else (inc. watches) fakes are prevalent, and cannot be avoided.

The only good thing about this is that in public, those with the real thing can feel 'safe' due to the fact that others will probably think that they are fake. Sure, I'm usually around the safer areas of London...but invariably do find myself in places where this does help I guess (i.e. the tube)...

One interesting statistic I know is that Rolex make circa 800,000 watches annually (this has never been officially disclosed, but is an approximation obtained by reported number of COSC certifications by manufacturers), but the Chinese lorex's are made to the tune of ~5m/year

Ironically, I too have never owned or worn any branded clothing - simply because I can't...I have to get everything hand tailored to fit me...LOL!

[Main]

I think kalniel hit the nail on the head in regard to most brand loyalty behaviour:

I think you can answer your own question actually. You have your 'usual' brands that you like (because you associate them with some kind of positive value), and you have other brands that you say you couldn't care less for. Everyone else does the same to some extent and voila you have different opinions towards different brands.

This would apply to any choice you've made because of brand or company reputation but at the same time it will be shaped by your own experiences, and leads to habitual behaviour. This comes to a point when you end up knowingly and willingly get ripped off because you prefer a brand, even if there is better out there. Then you get the "I'm superior because I buy brands few can afford" behaviour.

In the end you could split brand loyalty into 3 groups:
1) Being too lazy to look into alternatives
2) Buying from some brands because they are (or at least are percieved to be) genuinely superior or preference (like how a brand of food tastes)
3) Buying purely for the label, in essence, fanboyism (there's gotta be a technical term for that...) since that's what that comes down to

Of course, you might be buying for reason 3) because of reason 2) e.g. [flamebait] apple [/flamebait]


Reading back it feels like I've said the same thing TheAnimus said...I guess great minds think alike

There hasn't really been any part of my upbringing that has imprinted brand following on to me (at least in regards to clothing - comfort comes first...assuming I find something that fits) but I don't think any of us are completely unscathed, after all, anything but Heinz ketchup?

[TAKTAK]

my philosopy is:

If it's comfy and looks Okay, then it'll do....

But i do stick with some brands with some tech...
such as Permormance GFX cards always being nVidia (not even giving ATi a thought) but if it's a cheapy build then ATi

OOooh, and shoes... i always buy skate shoes cos IMHO they are much much comfier because of the extra padding (they also last longer [i'm one of the annoying ****'s that drags their feet ])

but anything else... any brand will do really... most of my jeans are from tesco cos they're cheap 'n cheerful.

T-Shirts- if they have something on them that i like then it's okay by me (i don't particularly like brand names sprawled across clothes though, i don't see why i should give the company free advertising.......... I WOULD wear a heXus T-Shirt though *WINK WINK*But i still need to win one, and find a competition that it is a prize in )

[bsodmike]

Of course, you might be buying for reason 3) because of reason 2) e.g. [flamebait] apple [/flamebait]

The apple bit gave me a chuckle

[Funkstar]

I'm very brand loyal. This goes for tech gear, clothes and apparel.

Most of my brand choices are at the medium to high end of the mainstream market.

Clothes:Gap, Merrel, CAT, Monsoon, JohnLewis, Fat Face...
Tech: Sandisk, corsair (not the insane stuff), pioneer, panasonic...
Cas: VW, Audi

Most of the really expensive labels just aren't my style, far too "fashionable"

[digit]

I couldn't care less about brands to be honest , as TAKTAK said if it looks confy i'll wear it! Mainly I find myself in TK Maxx buying clothes and will quite happily admit it, like hell am I paying tons of money for clothes

How can you shop in Gap funkstar knowing that they use child labour to produce a number of products they sell??

[Guy]

I couldn't care less about brands to be honest , as TAKTAK said if it looks confy i'll wear it! Mainly I find myself in TK Maxx buying clothes and will quite happily admit it, like hell am I paying tons of money for clothes

How can you shop in Gap funkstar knowing that they use child labour to produce a number of products they sell??

Not that I aprove of GAP and there child labour practices, BUT . . . . I can be damn sure that nearly all if not all of the products and brands that TK Maxx stock will also have been produced in similar style outfits.

TK Maxx sell some big name stuff, Nike, Reebok etc, are you telling me they were not made in a sweat shop?