Exploring brand equity of electronics supermarkets located in Hanoi city

nd and its ownership policy, which in turn creates distinct brand associations, creating emotional loyalty and consequently behavioral loyalty. 1.3.3. Research of Allaway et al Research by the authors (Allaway et al., 2011) suggests that the brand equity of supermarket chains is the result of an overall branding effort across the supermarket chain over time, including its implementation. Daily marketing messages through services, products, prices, and sales promotion decisions are experienced by consumers at the stores. Finally, this creates emotional loyalty to the brand. Remarkably, the research results show that the brand equity of the supermarket is different according to each market segment corresponding to each target customer group, and the combination of input variables could be the key, helping supermarkets exist and maintain their competition. The choice of customers is not only because of the location of the supermarket and the price of products sold at that supermarket. The study identified eight variables "related to supermarket strategy to enhance customer experience in pursuit of their loyalty and increase sales", namely: Services, Quality product quantity and product portfolio, Bonus Programs, Customer Retention Activities, Pricing, Shopping Space, Locations and Community Participation. Creating the emotions and cohesion of customers with the supermarket will provide an opportunity for the supermarket to have a stronger brand than just supplying ordinary goods (Allaway et al., 2011). 1.3.4 Research of Jingfeng and Zhilong (2009) The research of Jinfeng and Zhilong (2009) is the next development research based on the results of Yoo and Donthu (2001). New to this study is (1) The term brand equity is changed to retailers brand equity and aspects of brand equity are changed accordingly; (2) The structure of brand equity is divided into two groups: Brand Loyalty for retail businesses and the remaining group (including Awareness, Associations, Perceived quality); (3) Include some retail marketing variables in the structure of the store image, based on the research results of Decarlo et al. (2007). The study surveyed 530 consumers in Wuhan (China) about ten supermarket chains with five international brands and five national brands. These are chains Walmart, Carrefour, Lotus, Metro, Bellevue; A.Best, Hualian, Zhongbai, Wushang and Zhongshang. The data analysis method used is the SEM structure model. 1.3.5 Research of Beristain and Zorrilla (2011) The study of Juan Beristain and Zorrilla (2011) inherits from the viewpoint of Aaker's brand equity (1991), in that perspective, the authors think that "The brand equity are a collection of assets and debt and is associated with the store's brand, thereby increasing or decreasing the value of the store-owned retail business and / or its customers. " Another point worth noting is that research also shows that the image of the store, in a broader view, is not only the result of the store's marketing programs, but also the results of actions and strategies and social activities that the retailer (owns the store or is related to it) implements. Therefore, in this study, the authors believe that "Store images are a collection of brand associations that are commercial, social and strategic associated with the store". 1.3.6 Research of Calvo-Porral et al., (2013) The study of Calvo-Porral et al (2013) is based on the research of Yoo and Donthu (2001) and building a model of the store's brand equity based on Aaker's point of view (1991). The research team has developed research, thinking that the inputs of the store's brand equity are perceptions, the store's commercial image, and the price images of the store's products that deliver to customers. The study has similarities with Beristain and Zorrilla (2011) when price separation becomes an independent variable and parallel to the reputation of the store and its commercial image. 1.3.7 Research of Le Tan Buu and Le Dang Lang (2015) Research by Le Tan Buu and Le Dang Lang (2015) has inherited the model of Aaker (1991) to evaluate the factors affecting the quality of salesperson and warranty quality to brand equity of hardware and electronics retail. The study used the SEM method to evaluate the influence of the independent variables: Quality of sales staff, Quality of warranty to the four components of brand equity are brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality, and brand loyalty. The model test results show that most correlation tests between independent and dependent variables are statistically significant, only the correlation between the warranty quality and brand associations deny result. The study carried out a survey of 614 customers selected by the convenient sampling method. The selected retailers to survey are Nguyen Kim, Thien Hoa, Cho Lon, Phong Vu, Hoan Long, The gioi di dong and Vien thong A. The set of scales was developed from Yoo's research and Donthu (2001), in which the scale for sales staff quality and warranty quality is inherited from several previous studies related to electronic goods. 1.3.8 Research of Hoang Thi Anh Thu This study aims to identify the components of customer-based brand equity for the consumer retail supermarket industry in Hue City, and to identify the correlation between the Advertising and Promotion variables. The study inherited Aaker's Brand equity model (1991) with the identification of the Brand equity components including four components: Brand Awareness, Brand Associations, Perceived Quality, and Brand loyalty. The overall brand equity element is determined based on the scale of Yoo and Donthu (2001). 1.4. The gap research From the content of the research overview, it could be noticed that the study of brand equity in enterprises has paid the attention of domestic and foreign scholars for many years. This is reflected in some of the studies summarized in the previous section. In particular, the research on brand equity of retailers has shown the discoveries on the constituent elements of brand equity in the field of retail services and about the factors affecting Brand equity. Remarkably, the research subject is a supermarket (a single store) and a supermarket chain (many supermarkets have the same brand name and the same owner) have become the object of study by many authors in different countries. In Vietnam, researches on brand equity of supermarkets and retail enterprises in general are still limited in the number of researches published at the time of the dissertation's research. Most of the studies approach from Aaker's point of view (1991) and use the scale set developed from studies from this perspective. Among those studies, the research on brand equity constitutes more focus than studies on the factors affecting brand equity. Up to now, there have been only two studies on the factors affecting the brand equity of supermarkets and these two projects have selected only two retail attributes to perform the assessment. Notably, specialized supermarkets such as electronics stores currently do not have independent research on brand equity according to Keller model approach (1993). This is both an opportunity and a challenge for the dissertation when building a research model. The opportunity is that the dissertation can inherit the research results on the factors affecting the brand equity of supermarkets/ retail businesses, thereby, exploiting the observed variables and the measured scale. Factors included in the research model are retail attributes that are included in the brand equity research model. However, the challenge is that Keller's scale (1993) has not been tested in many studies, leading to the application in the research model of the dissertation need to consider and carefully consider from the expert opinion. Stemming from the above reasons, this is the research gap for the dissertation's research topic. From this, it could say that: Firstly, the number of researches on brand equity of electronics stores, especially in the Hanoi market, is limited. This allows the dissertation to exploit new content so that it could be applied practically to the business activities of electronics stores in Hanoi and specialized supermarkets in general. Second, the research on brand equity of retail businesses is about one or several retail attributes as a factor affecting brand equity based on customers. These factors are location, staff, service, atmosphere, product assortments, prices, staff, etc. This shows the inheritance of the dissertation when evaluating impact factor on brand equity of electronics supermarkets in Hanoi city. Third, a significant number of researches on customer-based brand equity follow the quantitative research method. In particular, the model building, hypothesizing, and finding, analyzing data have proved the relevance and reliability of the research model. Since then, the dissertation will inherit the research findings that previous studies have discovered to add to the argument for this research. CHAPTER 2 THEORY OF CUSTOMER BASED BRAND EQUITY 2 .1. Customer – based brand equity and its components 2.1.1 The concept of customer - based brand equity Until now, the concept of "Brand equity " is still quite controversial and "it is considered an important strategic content but almost difficult to measure" (Marketing-dictionary.org, 2019). Access to customer – based brand equity today still mainly follows two approaches of Keller (1993) and Aaker (1991). Although Aaker's (1991) approach to brand equity receives a lot of attention from research scholars, especially when there is a scale development for this concept, it stands in the corner. In terms of consumer psychology, the Keller (1993) approach is thought to be more appropriate (Schmitt, 2012). However, this approach has not been completed on the quantitative scale as Aaker's approach. Therefore, this dissertation used a combination of Keller’s approach and subsequent development studies related to retail businesses and specialized supermarkets. 2.1.2 Components of customer – based brand equity Whether in view of customer – based brand equity does still aim to find factors that influence customers' behavior during the purchase and use of products and service. Keller's approach on brand equity has been developed over the past twenty years based on the view that brand equity is a consumer 's different reaction to brand marketing programs, and this differentiated reaction is the result of brand knowledge - an introduced concept is all brand thinking, perception, images, experiences and beliefs (Kotler and Keller, 2016, p. 325) ). The formation of brand equity in the minds of customers is explained based on the branding process: from the stages of brand awareness, creating brand associations, attitudes toward the brand, and attachment associated with the brand. To distinguish the level of brand equity, the brand resonance pyramid was introduced to evaluate "customer mind-set", from which the brand could determine the current position in the minds of customers and influences on how customers respond to brands in the market. Introducing a "brand resonance pyramid" is the steps to build brand equity in the minds of customers because the brand resonance pyramid would consider how brand positioning affects the thinking, consumer perception and actions towards the brand and the extent to which they spread their love and loyalty to the brand. Such brand equity will be "significant" if the brand is able to reach a level that makes customers highly loyal (proactive, positive, and cohesive) (Keller, 2013, p.107). However, if the brand has not yet reached a resonant level, it does not mean that the brand has no brand equity in the minds of its customers. Therefore, it could be said that brand equity comes from the moment consumers can identify and distinguish one branded product from another branded product. The introduction of the term "brand resonance" by Keller (2013) can be considered as a classification approach on "brand equity" whereby brand equity is something that can be measured and decentralized. (1) Brand awareness (2) Brand performance (3) Brand imagery (4) Brand assessments (5) Brand emotions (6) Resonance brand 2 .2. Measure brand equity based on customer perspective Measuring customer – based brand equity is still a topic of much debate among researchers. This debate also stems from different approaches to the nature of brand equity. The first group consists of observation variables that the Aaker's (1991) inherited and following views of have developed. Accordingly, consumer choice behavior is represented by observed variables such as "only option" and "always select" even if the characteristics of competitors are equivalent. One way of research is that brand equity could be measured directly, and that measurement is expressed through the behavior of a customer's choice. This research group comes from the approach of Aaker (1991) and is developed by quite a few other authors such as Arnett et al (2003); Pappu and Quester (2006); Yoo and Donthu (2001), ... Several other studies such as Swoboda et al. (2016) show that brand equity is a hidden structure, meaning that it could not be directly measured but instead. It is indirect measurement through different variables. The study inherited the results of Verhoef et al. (2007) when using four observed variables as a scale for brand equity of retail businesses. The approach of these studies is that a brand has a brand equity, that is, a strong brand that is remembered and retained in the customer's mind. The second group, typically represented by Keller (2013), the set of observed variables and scales for brand equity recommended consists of six groups. Each group bases on the constituent components of customer-based brand equity to ask evaluation questions. However, this scale has not been proven through many studies, so it is difficult to say that this scale is convincing enough for researchers. 2.3. Customer - based brand equity of electronics supermarket 2.3.1. The definition of electronics supermarket Based on Vietnam’s legal and marketing was mentioned, within the scope of study of this dissertation, electronics supermarket is a retail store specializing in business with the sale be conducted directly and on self-service (or elective) technology, with a list of business goods being electronic products - electronics, a large business and service space with parking and parking transportation, convenient payment methods, the principle of arrangement and display of attractive goods, and disclosure of sale price information. Electronics supermarkets might be identified by the word "supermarket" attached to the specific part of the trade name or not. 2.3.2 . Customer based brand equity of the electronics supermarket from the Keller perspective Based on Keller's approach (2013b, 1993b), in this dissertation, the concept of brand equity of consumer electronics supermarkets in terms of consumer is defined as the different effects of brand knowledge to consumer reaction to brand marketing activities of electronics supermarkets. 2.4. These factors affect customer-based brand equity of electronics supermarket 2.4.1. Macro environment’s factors Political factors. For electronics stores and retail enterprises in general, the legal factors affecting supermarket and enterprise's business activities are expressed mainly in the official regulations of law. Besides, in the context of Vietnam's economic integration, the agreements signed between Vietnam and other regions and territories should be considered as a factor affecting the business environment of enterprises. Economic factors. Regarding the brand equity of electronics stores, consumer demand and average household spending are factors in the economic factor group that receive more attention. These two factors represent purchasing power and ability to pay for specific products of consumers, and these two factors are influenced by the overall economic situation of the country. If the difficult economic situation (with the increase in the number of unemployed people, with few jobs, the income does not increase or even decrease, the inflation level rises) will directly affect the spending of individuals and households. family. The inevitable consequence in these contexts is that consumers are forced to cut back on spending on unnecessary items, giving priority to essential consumer products. But that for businesses trading in electronic products - electronics is a serious challenge. Social - Cultural factors. Characterized by having a young population (aged 15 years and older) reaching more than 70 million people (by the end of the second quarter of 2018), Vietnam has a young workforce (Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, 2018). That means consumer spending would likely continue in an uptrend. For electronics supermarkets, what is more interesting is the set of potential customers (generation of Z consumers - those who were born in 2000 and later) would have purchasing behaviors, there are different points. What is different from the previous generation - the generation of consumers Y (those born between 1981 and before 2000), and the generation of consumers X (those born between 1966 and 1980) and the generation of consumers "baby boomers" (people born between 1946 and 1965). Different consumption behavior would lead to the influence of different factors on the shopping journey. Technology factor. For electronics stores and retail enterprises in general, the development of technology, typically the Internet, is a contributing factor to the modern business method. 2.4.2. Microenvironment’s factors Targeted customer. As analyzed above, depending on the interests of each age group, it is possible to divide the target customer base of electronics supermarkets into different customer groups. From here it is found that customers of electronic products - electronics are remarkably diverse in age. Telecommunications products such as mobile phones will have a greater appeal than other products for young customers, while electronic products - refrigeration - household appliances would belong to customers living independently Competitors. As a modern retail channel, electronics supermarkets directly compete with other electronics supermarkets, with e-commerce websites, and exchanges in the distribution of electronic products, electronics and appliances information technology, telecommunication. In addition, electronics supermarkets also compete with traditional retail channels such as small traders in traditional markets, individual business households (families) with small shops retailing electronic and electrical products. It is impossible not to mention individuals who do business on social networks with several specialized products such as electronic components and accessories. Suppliers. The manufacturing business is one of the important partners of retail supermarkets and is an upstream member of the retail supply chain. For electronics supermarkets, reaching an agreement on the price, the warranty policy - exchange, payment, payment policies, goods policy for manufacturing businesses could be an important advantage to increase competitiveness in the market. Besides, maintaining a "good" relationship between the two sides would help to stabilize the business activities of the two sides. General public. The public can influence an organization in achieving its goals, especially when those goals are related to brand image building, maintaining the position of the business in the organization community. Public groups include financial circles, media, public authorities, social activists, local authorities, etc. In operations, businesses need to understand that benefits from business activities and need not go against or detract from the interests of the public. Because if it does not benefit the community, or diminishes that common interest, the business operation of the retailers would not be sustainable in the long term. Therefore, businesses need to show responsibility to the community in their area to ensure that the cooperation and support for their brand is the best possible. 2.4.3 Internal environment’s factors Financial sources. Financial resources are an important factor affecting the budget used for marketing activities and brand development of businesses. Several factors include cash holdings, debt and equity levels, access to capital for future development, and relationships with important financial stakeholders (e.g., bankers, customers, and shareholders) (Ennew and Waite, 2007). Financial resources could be considered as a significant resource, playing an important role in planning marketing and branding strategies in the future. Human Resources. Human resources make an important contribution to the creation, maintenance, and enhancement of corporate brand equity. Human resources are not only expressed in the number of employees, but also in the specific skills and qualifications that an organization's employees could meet and exceed their initial expectations. For service-providing businesses, human resources could be considered a vital part of the business. The nature of service is something that could be difficult to use the senses to see, so customers and stakeholders communicate with employees and communicate with businesses and experience the service is provided. Infrastructure. Facilities include facilities, equipment, etc. that enterprises are exploiting (maybe enterprises own or only have rights to use). For an electronics supermarket, facilities might include properties on the land that the supermarket has the right to use, equipment for sales and sales management, and equipment for service, for media activities such as banners, signs, fairground frames, etc. The facilities, for electronics supermarkets, are a brand expression for customers. This means that facilities are tangible things through which customers are impressed and could experience the brand. Other forms of intangible assets. Marketing decision. The inseparable relationship between marketing activities and brand activities. Every marketing decision has an important influence on the brand of the business. For electronics supermarkets, as a retailer, decisions on retail marketing are important decisions for retailers to pursue their business goals in the key market segment and the exact time. specified. Several important marketing decisions in the retail sector are identified, including: Product portfolio decision, retail price decision, service decision, atmosphere decision, business decision operations and store experiences, media decisions, and location decisions (Kotler and Keller, 2016, p.557). 2.5 General introduction to the study geographical area 2.5.1 Scale and growth rate of retail market of electronic products Vietnam's retail market continues to be perceived as an attractive market (Tran Hai Dang, 2016) and for the retail market of consumer electronics and electrical appliances, there is still room for businesses to enter the market. According to research by GfK Temax, the retail sales of consumer electronics and electrical products in 2017 was VND 197.4 trillion, VND 217.49 trillion in 2018 and by the end of the third quarter of 2019 reached 158.46 thousand. billion VND. 2.5.2 Channels of electronic product - electronics retail in Hanoi city In the Hanoi market, electronic products - electronics can be purchased through two traditional retail channels: Traditional Market, small electronics store; and modern retail channels are Supermarkets, Shopping Centers and via Internet-based applications. 2.5.3 General introduction of electronics supermarkets in Hanoi city The number of electronics supermarkets in Hanoi city, by the end of March 2019, includes a total of 109 electronic supermarkets. In which, Dien may Xanh is the chain of electronics stores with the largest number of sales points with 59 points of sale, spread across most districts of Hanoi City. Followed by Mediamart with 26 points of sale, Pico with 13 points of sale and HC with 6 points of sale. Finally, DigiCity has 5 electronics stores. Cau Giay and Tu Liem districts (including Bac Tu Liem and Nam Tu Liem), Dong Da, Ha Dong and Long Bien have many selling points of many electronics supermarkets. In terms of the volume of business goods (SKUs), by the end of March 2019, Mediamart is trading more than 11,000 SKUs throughout the system; Pico is trading nearly 6500 SKUs throughout the system; HC has 6248 SKUs throughout the system; DigiCity has nearly 5000 SKUs throughout the system. Particularly, Dien May Xanh, up to the time of the statistical dissertation, there are nearly 5500 SKUs in the whole system. However, after that, the sy