Translating Values into Teenage Fashion Wants in an Emerging Market

Abstract

The emerging market of Colombia and especially its second largest city, Medellin, has regained its allure for multimillion dollar investment by fashion giants. This is good news for the country but also a threat to local fashion brands. Consumer knowledge and the understanding of youth are fundamental in this process of gaining market. However, relevant managerial local decisions are usually done by intuition because teen consumer commercial data is scarce and expensive, and the academic and public data is nonexistent. Marketers also assume general global teen information applies to the Colombian market without adverting cultural differences. This qualitative research aimed to comprehend the changing urban adolescent consumer and their relationship with fashion by identifying value segments in Medellin, Colombia. The methodology included an exploratory research of 10 key informant interviews with fashion and teenager local experts. The ethnographic research carried out with 16 teenagers between 13 and 18 years of age from different socio-economic backgrounds and genders. Four segments were found reflecting teenagers’ main cultural values for wanting fashion products and brands. Local adaptations and expressions of values could be found to be different in these segments depending on the “accompanying value”. Our exploratory research results could be useful to brands targeting adolescents or brands wanting to connect with nostalgia and the interior desire of being young. Results could also provide direction for further examination.