Flagships are the physical apogee of consumerism, places where brand experiences are most defined and interactions with consumers are highly refined. This book marks the first comprehensive study of the concept of the flagship, bringing together a range of scholarly insights from the field, covering issues such as consumerism, areas of consumption and experimental marketing theory and practise. The ways in which flagship projects communicate brand values, both externally and internally, form an important part of this book, and provide new perspectives on late twentieth century commercial and cultural policy and practice.
Kent and Brown offer a truly interdisciplinary approach to the concept, offering a variety of perspectives on the debates surrounding flagship function and its role as a place of consumption. Chapters focus on the development of prestigious stores, hotels and arts and cultural centres, as showcases for branded experiences and products and as demonstrations of commercial and public policy. Cases and examples include The Eden Project in the UK, automotive showrooms in Germany, hotels in Dubai and Las Vegas, and Vienna's cultural quarter. Theoretical discussion explores the tensions between costs and profitability, conspicuous consumption and the sustainability of iconic forms. The book enables readers to explore the flagship concept from different perspectives, and while a marketing approach predominates, it provides a disciplinary challenge which will open up new ways of understanding the concept.
Contents
Introduction, Tony Kent and Reva Brown, Chapter 1 Concepts of flagships, Tony Kent, Chapter 2 A classification approach to flagship stores, Bill Webb, Chapter 3 Emotion and identity in flagship design, Hilary Collins, Chapter 4 Virtual flagships and sociable media, Richard Coyne, Mark Wright, James Stewart and Henrik Ekeus, Chapter 5 The flagship store: the luxury fashion retailing perspective, Christopher Moore and Anne-Marie Doherty, Chapter 6 Flagshipg centres, Charles Dennis, Chapter 7 From dome to dome’ – exploring cultural flagships and their contribution to achieving regeneration goals, Debi Hayes, Chapter 8 A Cultural Quarter Flagship; The Museumsquartier, Vienna, Simon Roodhouse, Chapter 9 The department store: the metropolitan flagship in national networks of fashion consumption, Bronwen Edwards, Chapter 10 Wynn Las Vegas: a flagship destination resort, Nicky Ryan, Chapter 11 High-end 'factory outlets': new showcases of German carmakers, Dion Kooijman, Chapter 12 What is a flagship supermarket? An analysis of supermarket flagships in a design context, Audrey Kirby, Chapter 13 Virtual flagships, Tim Jackson, Afterword, Tony Kent
Author Bio
Tony Kent is Reader in Marketing at the University of the Arts, London. Reva Brown was the Professor of Management Research at Oxford Brookes University.
