'Made in China' label may damage brand

More than two-thirds of luxury consumers say where goods are manufactured is important, a Unity Marketing survey shows, meaning that moving operations to another country to cut costs may damage a brand in the long run.

Luxury consumers, classified with an average age of 46.6 and an average income of $155,700, think quality goods are made in America, as well as in Italy, France and Germany.

China, however, is a country they associate with lower-quality goods, the survey shows.

"This is important because our survey shows that 80 percent of luxury consumers feel the association a luxury goods brand has with a particular country, like Chanel has with France or Gucci has with Italy, are integral to the perception of the brand," Unity Marketing President Pam Danziger said in a statement. "Nearly as many say they will pay more for luxury goods manufactured to exacting standards and in countries where manufacturing practices are high."

The survey, which polled 1,281 luxury consumers, also shows that the desire for products manufactured in certain countries increases with age.

Consumers ages 45 to 70 were most likely to hold definite opinions on countries having higher- or lower-quality merchandise.

"Younger consumers may have not had as much time to travel, study and form opinions on the countries of manufacture for their luxury goods," Danziger said. "This is a real opportunity for luxury marketers to educate their younger consumers about the company's insistence on holding the quality-bar high, regardless of the country they use to source their goods."
Source: nationaljewelernetwork