« Retail Brand Equity: A PLS Approach

Magali Jara (1)

1 CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management

In large retail stores, France is characterized by market saturation and even a decline of several retail concepts such as variety stores, or even supermarkets and hypermarkets (Cliquet, 2000). This situation leads to a fierce competition and raises questions which affect marketing strategies of French retail companies. Given the legal context, the French retailers can increase sales through retail brands which appear to be henceforth among the most effective marketing tools. Indeed, product innovation, sophisticated packaging and retail brands - from generic products to premium retail brands (Kumar and Steenkamp, 2007) - could create consumer value. There are thus today real retail branding strategies consisting in creating consumer value leading to the idea of retail brand equity.
This paper focuses on retail brand equity to understand where this retail brand value stems from and how to measure it in the French retail context. Adapting the brand equity literature to the retail brand opens large perspectives in the way of considering this type of brands helping managers to examine the importance of components in the shaping of their brand value and finally to develop better strategic and tactical decisions concerning retail brand positioning.
Keller's contributions (Keller, 1993), qualitative methodology and confirmatory analysis are used to first conceptualise and measure a model of retail brand equity. All measures of the model built here are validated. The model is validated through a Path-PLS modelling process. This methodological choice is recommended when formative and reflective variables are integrated in the model (Jarvis et al., 2003). A replication is made to confirm the model validity.
Retail brand equity is composed of two components: awareness, and retail brand image (which is measured by perceived quality, price image, personality, brand name and store service). All of these components influence positively and significantly the retail brand purchase (except the store service which influence negatively the retail brand purchase). Retail brand awareness and perceived quality are the two main components which determine the retail brand purchase. Results show also that the retail brand image is a partial mediator on the relation between retail brand awareness and its purchase. This research reveals finally that the retail brand equity can be moderated by the product category and the retail brand strategy. The retail brand equity is higher on basic products than on symbolic ones. The strategy of service brand applied to retail brands seems to be more favorable than classical private label strategy.

Mots clés: retail brands; brand equity; retailers' strategies; confirmatory analysis; Path-

Domaines: Gestion et management

Magali Jara. « Retail Brand Equity: A PLS Approach. European Institute of Retailing and Services Studies, 2009, NIAGARA FALLS, Canada. pp.1. ⟨halshs-00413604⟩