Standardisering eller lokalisering? : En jämförande studie av två modeföretag i olika prisklassers anpassning i Kina

Sammanfattning: Cultural differences lead companies to either standardize or localize their marketing when internationalizing into other countries. The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper and broader understanding of how western brands market themselves in China. This is done by examining how two brands in different price brackets choose to standardize or localize their marketing in China. The two brands are: Louis Vuitton and H&M. After determining to which degree these two brands adapt to China there will be a comparison. Two theories from Hofstede (1983) are presented and used to illustrate cultural differences. The study also uses cultural factors such as: language, colors, clothes, and model’s ethnicity to determine to which degree the two brands adapt to China. The country of origin effect is also presented and used to see if it is visible in the marketing directed to China. To answer the research question a qualitative study of the two fashion brands website, Weibo and Twitter was conducted. The results and conclusion show that marketing of western brands in both high and low-price brackets in China uses a combination of standardization and localization but to different degrees. The lower priced brand localizes more than the brand with higher prices. The adaptation that occurs is dependent on the national culture and the price bracket the brand exists in. How western brands relate to national cultures for advertising purposes continue to be of interest for future studies.