Edinburgh Napier University

  With approximately 1.38 billion, Generation Y are currently in the job market
or about to enter the job market, they are increasingly taking over the spending
power of the previous generation, the Baby Boomers. The purpose of this
qualitative study was to explore the impact country-of-origin information on
the perception of Generation Y towards international fashion brands. This
study was conducted in the context of fashion products, one of the key interests
of the Generation Y, and covered a sample population of twenty one
countries. As Generation Y are internet savvy, this study was conducted by using
semi-structured interviews in an online chat room and structured email interviews.
53 interviews were conducted with the participants from Generation
Y cohort. This study highlighted that most Generation Y ignored country-oforigin
information. This study explored the reasons why Generation Y ignored
or paid attention to the country-of-origin information. It brings valuable insight
to international fashion marketers about how country-of-origin information
influences the Generation Y’s perception towards international fashion
brands. Qualitative studies which investigate the perception of Generation Y
towards country-of-origin of international fashion brands are scarce. Thus, this
study can contribute to the development of research into country-of-origin
and Generation Y.