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The purpose of this paper is to disentangle the effect of life equilibrium on organic food purchase intentions through a consideration of the evaluation of intrinsic and extrinsic food quality attributes. Furthermore, the study examines the role of health consciousness in achieving life equilibrium.

The conceptual framework was developed based on previous research and tested through a quantitative study with end consumers. The hypothesized relationships were tested using structural equation modelling.

The results obtained from this study show that the perceived quality associated with the intrinsic attributes of organic food mediates a positive influence of life equilibrium on consumers’ organic food purchase intentions. The study also confirms that life equilibrium mediates the effects of health consciousness on the evaluation of intrinsic and extrinsic food quality attributes.

The theoretical contributions of the paper lie in uncovering the complex relationships that exist among health consciousness, life equilibrium, perceived organic food quality dimensions and purchase intentions and providing new evidence showing which perceived intrinsic organic food quality dimensions are relevant in shaping consumers’ purchase intentions.

The research results suggest that organic food managers should focus on developing stronger value propositions that are based more on intrinsic food quality characteristics and less on extrinsic ones.

This study recognizes the relevance of life equilibrium as a specific consumer lifestyle form, which drives organic food consumption through extrinsic and intrinsic food quality attributes.

Despite the changing conditions worldwide, some global luxury brands have attained strong performance levels, and perhaps it is their globalness that keeps them resilient. Since the global luxury market is comprised of customer segments with relatively homogeneous needs, wants and motivations, achieving a global luxury brand positioning will help mitigate the negative consequences of economic crises, regardless of the market in which a luxury brand operates. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A survey instrument was administered to a sample of 200 professionals located in a European country where none of the global brands cited in the paper are originating. The country was also selected on the basis of its propensity to have local luxury brands in competition with the global brands in each of the categories tested. The survey was conducted during the peak of economic crisis in Europe.

This study provides evidence that brand globalness may be a major value creating factor, and thus a source of competitive advantage for luxury brands competing in the global marketplace. Another question addressed by this study is should the luxury brand modulate the message projected in the media away from luxury and closer to quality or other stimuli less associated with luxury in order to avoid luxury shame. All these are questions addressed by this imperial study to investigate how the brand globalness influences consumer perceptions in global recessionary times.

The proposed research formulates an empirical study of the underlining effects of what is referred to as “glocalization” in the literature on the luxury positioning. This study provides evidence that brand globalness may be a major value creating factor, and thus a source of competitive advantage for a luxury company competing in the global marketplace.

The purpose of the paper is to analyse the luxury market and determine the factors that determine luxury consumption. Luxury consumption has been neglected, and yet many questions arise concerning the underlying dimensions of luxury shopping.

Two scales were used: questions concerning luxury consumption were used in order to determine the sample of luxury consumers, and a PRECON scale was used to measure individual differences in consumers’ prestige shopping preferences. After the scale validation process, factor analysis was conducted, along with regression analysis of all PRECON factors.

The results show that in this market consumers perceive quality as a brand determinant. Further, strong patron status suggests a “snob effect” among respondents, who buy exclusive items in an attempt to distinguish themselves. Hence, rare products indicate respect and prestige among the respondents. Furthermore, this paper defines two sub‐categories, namely “old aristocracy” and “new money”, with the latter more ascendant in the case of a developing market. It also showed that luxury consumers behave similarly worldwide, regardless of economic or social surroundings.

Luxury consumption should be put in the context of psychological determinants, and perhaps tested according to lifestyle.

This paper brings attention to luxury consumption, its motives and consumer styles.

In 1930s Britain, tennis champion Fred Perry was a household name. However, the name Fred Perry is more commonly associated with striped-collar polo shirts featuring a laurel wreath logo. In the late 1960s, Fred Perry polo shirts were standard mod and Skinhead dress. When worn by working-class youth the shirt became subversive commentary on English elitism because it had originally been designed for the tennis courts. Many punks also aligned with the brand in dual demonstration of association with working-class ethics as well as an alternative to t-shirts. In the 1980s and onward, this sartorial style was appropriated by right-wing white nationalists, which stripped it of its subcultural spirit. Patriot groups, such as neo-Nazis and the alt-right have continued to co-opt the subcultural style, simultaneously turning the Fred Perry polo into a symbol of racism and bigotry. The multi-use of the Fred Perry brand creates a challenge in how to interpret visual cues when one garment has competing perceptions that at times can be completely opposing. This study examines the history of the Fred Perry brand through the lens of symbolic interactionism, specifically how the shirt evolved from a rather innocuous, yet subversive, form of merchandize repurposed from the tennis world to youth subcultures where the polo communicated group identity. As the brand has moved through fashion cycles, the association of the Fred Perry polo with deviant groups has reduced the brand to representations of hate and separation, which has impacted sales and brand image with its intended consumers.