It is fairly widely known that perceptions of poor production quality have haunted Chinese products for years. Historically, China has not been considered a top choice for product origin. In 1994, Chinese entrepreneur David Tang decided to challenge this perception, and established the Hong-Kong based Shanghai-Tang company, with the goal of fusing traditional Chinese fashion with more contemporary style. In addition to fashion, the store also offered homeware items. In Tang's own words, Shanghai Tang's aim was to 'create the first global Chinese lifestyle brand by revitalizing Chinese designs - interweaving traditional Chinese culture with the dynamism of the modern life'. In the late 1990s, its first store was opened on Madison Avenue, New York, but less than two years later the store was closed. A few years later, the brand opened a new, smaller-scale store on Madison Avenue, but the brand again failed to gain momentum until new creative director Joanne Ooi joined the company. Ooi's role was to re-invent the brand and revitalize the image. The new line of products implemented under Ooi's direction were much more contemporary and sleek creations, and its evident success triggered the opening of more stores in Zurich, Tokyo, Bangkok, Milan, and Beijing. By taking inspiration from art, and history books, and interpreting calligraphy and other traditional patterns into her designs, the designer cemented the brand's identity in Chinese cultures, whilst introducing creative new lines each season. One of the collections, for example, was inspired by Mongolian nomads.

From the beginning, Shanghai Tang sought to follow the tradition of lifestyle luxury brands such as Prada, Armani and Gucci. As a result, carried the brand under its umbrella. 

 

Questions:

(A)    How should Aston Martin go about raising brand awareness and brand familiarity in China - an important emerging market?

 

Conduct your own research into the brand and discuss the following:

 

·   (B)      What might have been the initial reason for Shanghai Tang's failure, from a branding perspective? 

 

(C)·         To what extent did the repositioning of the brand help to re-establish its identity? 

 

(D)·         What inherent forces allow Shanghai Tang to establish itself as a luxury lifestyle brand capable of competing in global luxury market?

 

·   (E)      Do you think poor perceptions of 'Made in China' still affect Shanghai Tang? Is there any need for rebranding?

Support with references. 

 

500 word