Abstract:
In the context of globalization, the brand image of Chinese leather goods plays a significant role in enhancing its brand competitiveness and expanding international markets. By adopting the Grounded Theory methodology, this research utilized two approaches, namely web scraping and in-depth interviews, to gather consumer evaluations of Chinese leather goods. Based on the collected data, a three-level coding analysis was conducted, resulting in 277 basic concepts, 26 primary categories, and 7 main categories. Furthermore, the relationships between concepts and categories were examined, leading to the identification of 4 overarching core categories, namely consumer perception and identification of product quality, consumer perception of company reputation, emotional connection between brand and consumers, and consumer profiling in the Chinese leather goods market. Subsequently, a brand image model for Chinese leather goods was constructed based on these core categories, forming the theoretical framework for understanding and shaping the brand image of Chinese leather goods. Finally, recommendations for leather goods companies to effectively shape their brand image were proposed from a corporate perspective.