The images of foreign versus domestic retailer brands in China: A model of corporate brand image and store image

Both foreign and domestic retailers are competing for the newly emerged affluent consumers in China, yet little is known about how these retailer brands are perceived by the Chinese consumers. The corporate branding literature often considers retailer’s store image as corporate image, which neglects the nuance between these two interrelated but distinctive constructs. Drawing upon cognitive associative network and categorisation theories, this study investigates the interrelations of retailer corporate brand image and store image and their differential effects on consumer patronage intention, with corporate brand origin (foreign versus domestic) as a moderator. Our sample was from a survey of 338 department store customers in Beijing, China. The empirical results show that both corporate brand image and store image have a positive effect on patronage intention, but the effect of store image is stronger. Brands of foreign origin have a more positive corporate brand image than their local counterparts, yet there is no significant difference in store image by corporate brand origin. Corporate branding recommendations for both foreign and domestic retailers operating in China are provided.