An international study of unisex and “same‐name” fragrance brands

Abstract

Examines the perceptions and preferences of fragrances by females. The sample was taken from nine cities across three continents. Of the two major fragrance concepts examined, unisex fragrances have been introduced, with only about half the respondents in the nine cities (six countries) surveyed in this study being familiar with the concept. Respondents assessed the effects of ten factors on the fragrance decisions. The joint effects of ten surveyed factors show major differences between samples as stratified by area, with some consistency among the top factors, as supported by ANOVA and MANOVA analysis. Chi-Square analysis of unisex and``same-name'' fragrances indicated significant differences in four of six variables. The ten surveyed factors werè`s cent, European fragrance, price, brand (purchased for self), brand (purchased as gift), mood, season, free items with purchase, container, and color.''``Scent, price, brand and mood'' were the dominant variables. Significant differences existed between the respondents in the three major geographic areas, USA, Europe and Asia for seven of the ten factors, i.e. European fragrance, price, brand purchased as a gift, mood, season, container, and color.

The effective factors related with feelings, brand perception and purchase decision under a model

“…Cultural factors affect awareness and willingness to purchase many products and services. Cultural differences exist due to differences in the geography, infrastructure, natural resources, types of businesses, length of time the culture has existed, and other factors present in the various countries around the world (Markham and Cangelosi, 1999).…”

“…Some researches (Dubois and Laurent, 1996;Fournier, 1998) postulated perfumes as a medium to give good impressions to others (Yoh, 2006). Markham and Cangelosi (1999) examines the perceptions and preferences of fragrances by females about two major fragrance concepts (unisex and same name). They surveyed ten factors ‗‗scent, European fragrance, price, brand (purchased for self), brand (purchased as gift), mood, season, free items with purchase, container, and color.''…”

“…They found scent, brand purchased for self, and items given free with purchase were important to all cultures and likely not be determining dimensions. Whether or not the fragrance was European, price, and individual's mood while shopping, were the three factors scoring highest as being -culturally different‖ (Markham and Cangelosi, 1999).…”

“…Unisex and ‗‗same-name'' brands create an appeal to both men and women unconstrained by the traditional limitations of fashion brandingmachismo for men and allure or sensuality for women. The success of brands such as Calvin Klein has changed the way in which we perceive fashion branding since the ‗‗unisex'' approach taken by this fashion house has succeeded while traditional fashion brands with an expressed gender target have struggled (Markham and Cangelosi, 1999). Markham and Cangelosi (1999) divided fragrances in their research within two groups.…”

“…The success of brands such as Calvin Klein has changed the way in which we perceive fashion branding since the ‗‗unisex'' approach taken by this fashion house has succeeded while traditional fashion brands with an expressed gender target have struggled (Markham and Cangelosi, 1999). Markham and Cangelosi (1999) divided fragrances in their research within two groups. Unisex perfumes mentioned earlier and the same name perfumes which is the subject of this research.…”