Country of origin, brand image and retail management for the exploitation of “Made in Italy” in China

The chapter analyze the relevance and the interaction of different variables attributable to the concept of "origin" in the branding strategies of Italian firms in the field of children's clothing and in the evaluation process of the Chinese consumer. The research aims to answer three main questions: 1) How does it affect the country of origin on product evaluation in China? 2) How does it affect the country of origin on brand evaluation in China if a firm adopt different distribution policies? In order to answer the research questions, we used the following interviews: 600 Chinese consumers in multi-brand stores; 600 Chinese consumers in mono-brand stores (300 consumers interviewed in stores where there are “Made in Italy” corners; 300 consumers interviewed in stores where there are no “Made in Italy” corners) The control of about 60 mono-brand stores of an Italian children's clothing firm in China let us understand the country of origin effect on the evaluation process of the brand (and of the product) in the presence or absence of a "Made in Italy" corner inside the store