BUYING DECISIONS OF MENS' SHIRTS: SINGLE BRAND SHOW ROOMS Vs MULTI BRAND RETAIL OUTLETS PERSPECTIVE

India is witnessing change in life styles of large section of the population. The need to understand the emerging markets and consumers has become a big challenge for the corporate world especially in creating and managing a powerful brand. By developing a powerful brand, corporates can establish 'brand equity' and the equity assists firms in a variety of ways to manage competition and to maintain market share. Branding is one of the most effective competitive tools and it is a challenging task for the marketer to nurture a brand into a strong, profitable brand. Today's brands are more visible than those in the past. They are every where-on the TV hoardings, posters and print media. Brands while proclaiming their positive qualities pull down those of their rivals. Intangible assets such as brands, patents and know-now have become increasingly dominant elements of company value. Brands are widely recognized as corporate assets but have been historically evaluated based on non financial attributes like awareness, recognition and perceived value. Every marketer instinctively knows that his or her brand is valuable. Brand value is represented by the premium price a company gets at the time of transfer of ownership. However, the value for on-going business is determined by the important financial term "Goodwill". Buying behaviour of men on branded shirts are changing one. A number of people visit the showroom with a brand in mind because the quality and comfort of that brand are suitable for them. Most of the youth are not giving much importance to any specific brand because they go for smart look and different style only. An attempt is made in this study to assess the buying behaviour in respect of mens' shirts in single brand showrooms or in multi brand shops. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]