Branded versus Unbranded Jeans:

Opinions and Perceptions of Indian Youth

Shahaida P* and Madhavi Pandya**
The Indian branded apparel industry has seen tremendous growth in the last decade. The total garment
industry is about Rs. 20,000 crores and the jeans market is roughly around Rs. 5000 crores. The fast paced
growth of organized retail sector in India has aided the acceptance of branded clothing. The projections for
branded apparel and specifically jeans market is very encouraging and with the easy availability of
international brands in all major cities and towns will ensure that the reach is very high and growth will be
assured in the years to come. In this study we have measured the perceptions of youth across India towards
branded jeans. We have used a previous scale proposed by Eck Van A, AF Grobler and FJ Herbst (2004) and
we have explored the impact of demographic variables on the preferences. We have examined awareness levels
and preferences towards branded and unbranded jeans. We have measured perceptions on the basis of
attitudes, influences, motives, experience and expectations.The findings indicate that youngsters prefer
branded to unbranded jeans. Branded jeans were perceived to be known, expensive, high quality,
fashionable, stylish, desirable, comfortable and sex but the frequency of purchasing un branded jeans was
higher than branded jeans there are many aspects in which branded jeans are ahead of unbranded jeans.
Introduction
Global and Indian Textile and Apparel
Industry

lobal Textile and Apparel trade is

expected to reach US$ 1 Trillion by
2020 from the current US$ 510 Bn.
The growth in trade is driven by increased
outsourcing of western / developed
countries towards lower cost countries in
Asia.

Domestic Apparel retail market was worth

Rs 1,54,000 crores (US$33 Bn) in 2009 and is
expected to reach Rs 4,70,000 crores 100 Bn)
by 2020. Mens wear has the majority share
of Apparel market currently (43%). However,
womens wear is growing at a higher rate of

12% compared to mens (9%). The main

drivers of domestic growth are increasing
population, increasing income levels, rapid
urbanization, improving demographics,
increased organized players and increasing
penetration of retailers into smaller cities.

Indian Domestic Market

Textile and Apparels Contribution to Indias GDP

Indias exports have also recovered in 200910 and followed by that global demand has
increased and is currently worth Rs 1,10, 450
crores US$ 23.5 Bn ).Indias Textile & Apparel
industry (domestic + exports) is expected to
grow from the current Rs 3,27,000 crores (US$
70 Bn) to Rs 10,32,000 crores (US$ 220 Bn)
by 2020. The Indian domestic Textile and
Apparel market size in 2009 was Rs 2,18,570
crores (US$ 47 Bn) and is expected to grow
@ 11% CAGR to reach Rs 6,56,000 crores
(US$ 140 Bn) by 2020.

Source: Technopak Analysis

*Associate Professor, Siva Sivani Institute of Management

**Professor, Siva Sivani Institute of Management

January - April 2013 Vol. 8 Issue 3

57

As shown in above table Textile & Apparels

Contributed US $ 1,370 Billion to Indias GDP
of that 4.2 % (US $ 330 Billion) was the

contribution of Apparel Industry to Indias

GDP in 2009

Indian Textile and Apparel Industry Size

Source: Technopak Analysis

Indias total Textile and Apparel industry size

is valued at Rs 3,27,000 crores (US$ 70 Bn) in
2009 and is estimated to grow @ 11% CAGR

to reach Rs 10,32,000 crores (US$ 220 Bn) by

2020.

Overall Domestic Textile and Apparel Market

Source: Technopak Analysis

* Values given for Apparel and Home Textile

is at the retail end, while for Technical
Textiles, it is a combination of B2C and B2B
depending on the category.
Review of Literature
Juanjuan Wu and Marilyn Delong (2006)
studied Chinese perceptions of westernbranded denim jean in Shanghai (N= 219).
One third of the observed shoppers were
wearing jeans, which signified a relatively
high popularity of jeans as casual wear in
58

Shanghai. The design and fashion of jeans

were deemed highly critical but were
superseded by comfort and fit. Shanghai
consumers distinguished brand origins only
between the West and the East instead of
by specific countries. Dissatisfaction with
price and fit were identified.
Avan Eck, AFGrobler and FJ Herbst (2004)
conducted a survey among black
adolescents on perception of branding in
clothing Industry. The study focused on
young black consumers perception of

branded versus unbranded clothes. The

study measured factors and perceptions
towards branded and unbranded Jeanswear.
The results of this exploratory study
indicated that both male and female black
adolescents share positive perceptions
towards branded clothes, although
unbranded items were perceived as less
favorable, their worth was not denied and
when it comes to possible differences in the
two genders perceptions of designer labels
versus non-designer labels, designer labels
were much preferred.
A study was undertaken by Sirirat sae-jiu
on: Consumer Perception and Attitude
towards Foreign Versus Domestic Apparel
(2007) in Thailand at University of
Nottingham.. The purpose of the study was
to find out whether or not consumer
perceptions and attitudes toward purchasing
domestic versus imported apparel product
differ among young consumers in Thailand.
Total 194 university students completed and
returned useable questionnaires. The
findings showed that consumer attitudes
toward domestic versus foreign apparel
differed significantly. Consumers had an
overall more positive attitude towards
foreign apparel over Thai apparel with
regard to durability, quality, attractiveness,
fashionableness, brand name, and choice
of styles. However, no significant difference
was found in consumer attitudes among
various demographics, namely gender, age,
income level and travelled abroad. Young
Thai consumers preferred apparel
originating in western countries more than
eastern countries.
Susan Auty, Richard Elliott, (1998) studied
fashion involvement, self-monitoring and the
meaning of brands. They considered the
importance of fashion involvement for
interpretation of brands of jeans as measured
by Snyders revised self-monitoring scale,
which discriminates between people who are
highly motivated to respond to social cues
and those who remain true to themselves.
Over 650 people in the UK aged 14-34 were
shown either a branded or unbranded
stimulus. They were asked to record their
attitude to 27 pairs of bipolar adjectives
using a semantic differential scale. At the
same time they completed Snyders scale. It
was found that self-monitoring is a
Journal of Marketing & Communication

significant mediator of meaning with regard

to unbranded, but not branded, jeans. The
study has implications for the amount of
advertising required to support a fashion
brand.
OCass (2000) conducted study on
assessment of consumers product, purchase
decision, advertising and consumption
involvement in fashion clothing at Griffith
University, School of Marketing and
Management, Australia. The study proposed
and tested four types of involvement: (a)
product involvement; (b) purchase decision
involvement; (c) advertising involvement
and (d) consumption involvement. It also
proposed a higher order construct called
consumer involvement. Measures of all four
types of involvement were developed and
empirical tests were performed using CFA
and structural equation modelling (SEM).
Objectives of the present study
The broad objective of the study is to know
the perceptions of Indian youth towards
branded and unbranded Jeanswear.
Specific research questions are
RQ1. To find out the factors influencing
purchase of Jeanswear
RQ2. To find out the specific perceptions
towards branded and unbranded Jeanswear
RQ3. To find out the impact of different
influencers on purchase decision.

Part three measured the perceptions towards

branded and unbranded Jeanswear. Part four
comprised of demographic details.
The items for factors affecting choice of
Jeanswear brand and perceptions towards
branded and unbranded jeans were drawn
from four previous studies: O Cass (2000),
Auty and Elliot (1998), Evans (1999) and Eck,
Grobler and Herbst (2004).
Demographic Profile
The total sample size is 201. Gender: 49.25
% (99) were male respondents and 50.74%
(102) were female respondents. Age: 41.8 %
(84) belonged to age group 16-18 years,
30.8 % (62) belonged to 19-20 years, 15.9 %
(32) belonged to 21-23 years and 11.4 %
(23) belonged to 24-25 years. Educational
Qualification: 23.9% (48) have a qualification
below 10th standard, 22.4 % (45) are qualified
up to 12 th standard, 24.9 % (50) up to
graduation and 28.9 % (58) up to post
graduation. 25 % of the respondents belong
to four parts of India: Northern, southern,
eastern and western. Annual Family Income:
39.8 % (80) belong to Below 2 lakhs category,
30.3 % (61) belong to between 2-5 lakhs
category, 19.9% (40) belong to 5-8 lakhs
category and 10 % (20) belong to 8 lakhs
and above category. The sample is a good
representative of the youth of India.
Preliminary findings: Of the total 201
respondents, 82.1 % (165) respondents
purchase branded Jeanswear and 17.6 % (36)

January - April 2013 Vol. 8 Issue 3

A question was asked regarding the preferred

brand of Jeanswear, a total 16 brands were
preferred of which the highest preference
was for Levis Strauss 37.81% (76), Lee
16.91% (34) and 15.92 % (32) was for Pepe
Jeans. The other brands preferred were all
below 10% such as Alan Paine, Cantabil,
Denim, Diesel, Flu, John Player, Killer, Lee,
Puma, Signature, Wrangler, Spykar and
Tommy Hilfiger.
RQ1. To find out the factors influencing
purchase of Jeanswear
Table 1 depicts the factors which influence
the purchase of branded Jeanswear. The
lowest means indicate more agreement with
the statement as measurement was done on
a 5-point Likert scale, 1.Strongly agree, 2.
Somewhat agree, 3. Neutral, 4. Somewhat
disagree and 5. Strongly disagree.
Respondents prefer branded Jeanswear for
the following reasons: Attractiveness over
unbranded jeans (M=1.61), brand
consciousness (M=1.67), more fashionable
than unbranded jeans (M=1.71) and branded
clothes have high quality (M=1.75). The
lowest degree of agreement was with the
statement branded jeans are available at
good price (M=2.55).

Table 1
Reasons for preference of branded Jeanswear

Research Methodology
This is a descriptive survey based research.
We have used non probability stratified
sampling method. The sample included
undergraduate, graduate and post graduate
students. Sample size is 201, data has been
collected using a structured questionnaire
through e-mail and personal interviews. This
is a pan India study sample has equal
representation (25%) from four parts of India:
Northern, southern, eastern and western
regions. The structured questionnaire
comprised of four parts. Part one checked
the preference and frequency of purchasing
branded and unbranded Jeanswear. Part two
measured the factors affecting the purchase
of the most preferred brand of Jeanswear.

purchase unbranded Jeanswear. 52.2% (105)

of respondents buy Jeanswear once in 6
months, 16.9% (34): once in a year, 15.9%
(32): once in a month, 10.0 % (20): once in
three years and 4.9% (10): Never.

S tatements
I am brand conscious
The care instructions in branded jeans influence me to purchase the jeans
I am influenced by the brand name while purchasing jeans
I think branded clothes are of very high quality
The fiber content in branded jeans is very good
Branded jeans are very comfortable to wear
The color availability is more in branded jeans
Branded jeans looks more attractive than unbranded ones
Branded jeans are mostly fashionable
Branded jeans provides me a good fit
They are available at good price
It has ease of care
Branded jeans suits my personality
It is appropriate for almost all occasions
Measurement was done on a 5-point Likert scale, 1.Strongly agree
2.
3. Neutral
4. Somewhat disagree
5. Strongly disagree

Mean Std. Deviation

1.67
1.001
2.27
1.117
2.14
1.202
1.75
.948
2.05
1.161
2.00
1.310
2.37
1.366
1.61
.943
1.71
.974
2.02
1.151
2.55
1.459
2.13
1.215
1.98
1.233
2.20
1.274
Somewhat agree

59

RQ 2: To find out the specific perceptions

towards branded and unbranded Jeanswear

Evans (1989:7-16) and Eck, Grobler and

Herbst (2004).

Branded and unbranded jeans were

compared by means of a semantic
differential scale. Attributes were adapted
from the work of Auty and Elliott (1998:116),

Table 2 depicts the mean scores and standard

deviations for branded jeans versus
unbranded jeans.

Table 2
Comparison of preference towards branded and unbranded Jeanswear
Perceptions

Branded
Mean

Unbranded
Mean
S.D

S.D

Unknown/ Known

6.58

.803

3.34

2.271

Cheap/ Expensive

6.25

.831

2.01

1.204

Low quality/ High quality

6.49

1.281

2.43

1.295

Not stylish/ Stylish

6.54

.728

3.26

1.687

Poor image/ good image

6.41

.757

2.78

1.638

Not fashionable/ fashionable

6.34

.926

3.11

1.674

Not desirable/ desirable

6.28

.913

2.08

1.250

Uncomfortable/ Comfortable

6.52

.729

2.80

1.793

Not sexy/ Sexy

6.35

.927

3.45

2.152

Table 2 depicts the comparisons of

perceptions of respondents towards
branded and unbranded Jeanswear. The
means of branded jeans are quite high as
compared to unbranded jeans, this indicates
that respondents have a very positive
perception towards branded Jeanswear. The
same is pictorially depicted in graph 1.
Graph 1
Comparison on means for branded and
unbranded Jeanswear

Measurement was done on a 7-point Likert scale

Hypothesis

preferences for branded and unbranded

Jeanswear.

H0: There is no difference between

H1: There is a significant difference between

preferences for branded and unbranded
Jeanswear.

Table 3
Paired Samples ttest
Paired Differences
Mean

Std.
Deviation

Std. Error
Mean

95% Confidence
Interval of Difference
Lower

Upper

df

Sig. (2-tailed)

Pair 1

B:Unknown Un
B:Unknown

3.234

2.456

.173

2.892

3.575

18.670

200

.000

Pair 2

B:Cheap Un
B: Cheap

4.244

1.423

.100

4.046

4.442

42.277

200

.000

Pair 3

B:Low quality Un
B: Low quality

4.055

1.701

.120

3.818

4.291

33.803

200

.000

Pair 4

B: Not Stylish Un
B: Not Stylish

3.279

1.901

.134

3.014

3.543

24.458

200

.000

Pair 5

B: Poor image Un
B: Poor image

3.632

1.829

.129

3.378

3.886

28.158

200

.000

Pair 6

B: Not fashionable Un
B: Not fashionable

3.229

1.977

.139

2.954

3.504

23.158

200

.000

Pair 7

B: Not desirable Un
B: Not desirable

4.204

1.537

.108

3.990

4.418

38.771

200

.000

Pair 8

B: Uncomfortable Un
B: Uncomfortable

3.721

1.990

.140

3.445

3.998

26.506

200

.000

Pair 9

B: Not sexy Un
B: Not sexy

2.900

2.207

.156

2.594

3.207

18.634

200

.000

60

Journal of Marketing & Communication

As depicted in table 3 there is significant

difference between preferences for branded
Jeanswear and unbranded Jeanswear. The
paired t test is statistically significant (>0.05)
for all the pairs. Therefore we reject H0, there
is a significant difference between
preferences for branded and Unbranded
Jeanswear. Branded Jeanswear is preferred
over unbranded Jeanswear.
RQ3. To find out the impact of different
influencers on purchase decision

Reliability tests were employed for the

sections on reasons for brand preference
and perceptions towards branded and
unbranded Jeanswear. The Cronbach alpha
value for reasons is 0.808 and 0.626 for
perceptions. This indicates that the scale is
reliable. The scale possesses content and
face validity as this scale has been used by
previous researchers: Auty and Elliott
(1998:116), Evans (1989:7-16) and Eck,
Grobler and Herbst (2004).
Managerial Implications

Table 4
Influencers on purchase decision
Frequency Valid Percent
Peers advice

15

7.5

Discounts

42

20.9

Advertisements

51

25.4

Family

49

24.4

Friends

44

21.9

Total

201

100.0

The influence of advertisements is highest

with 25.4 % (51) followed by family 24.4 %
(49) and friends 21.9 (44). The respondents
base their purchase decisions on the above
mentioned influencers.

The study has clearly revealed that the

Indian youth prefer branded Jeanswear over
unbranded Jeanswear. This is a very positive
sign for marketers. The top preferred brand
of Jeanswear are Levis Strauss, Lee and Pepe
Jeans. There are no Indian brands in the top
three preferred brands, there is a huge
opportunity for Indian garment
manufacturing companies as the youth
segment is large and quite brand conscious.
Chi square tests were performed to see if
preference for branded or unbranded
Jeanswear differed on the basis of age,
gender, income or educational qualification
but no significant differences were found
(the Chi square values were above 0.05). This
indicates that the preference for branded
Jeanswear is uniform across segments.

The most important reasons cited by

respondents for buying branded Jeanswear
were: Attractiveness, brand consciousness,
fashionable and high quality. Marketers need
to focus on these specific attributes of their
brands in their promotional campaigns.
The most significant influencers for decision
making are advertisements, family and
friends. The promotional campaigns by
marketers should capitalize on the impact of
family and friends both in advertisements
and through social media marketing using
Facebook, Orkut and other networking sites.
Conclusion
The findings of the study are reliable and
valid as the measurement is based on
previous studies and the findings are
considered conclusive. Branded Jeanswear
are definitely more preferred than unbranded
jeans. There is no difference in the
perceptions of different genders, age groups
and educational backgrounds towards
branded jeans. Branded Jeanswear is
perceived to be attractive, fashionable and
of high quality. Indian branded Jeanswear
Market is lucrative and has tremendous
potential in the next decade to attract the
youth segment.

References
Asish Dhir, AVP: Fashion Practices ,Technopak Pvt Ltd. Indian Textile and Apparel Compendium 2010.
Auty, S. & Elliott, R. (1998) Fashion involvement, self-monitoring and the meaning of brands. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 7(2):109-123.
Cooper, D.R. & Schindler, P.S. (2001). Business Research Methods. Boston : Irwin McGraw-Hill.
Evans, M. 1989. Consumer behaviour towards fashion. European Journal of Marketing, 23(7):7-16.
Eck Van, AF Grobler, FJ Herbst (2004) Perceptions of branding in the clothing industry: a survey among black adolescents, available at repository.up.ac.za/upspace/.../1/
VanEck_Perceptions(2004).pdf
Kaynak, E. and Kara, A. (1996), Segmenting Kyrgyz consumer markets using life styles, ethnocentrism, and country of origin perceptions, Journal of East- West Business.
Marilyn Delong, Mingxin Bao, Juanjuan Wu, Huang Chao, Meng Li, (2004). Perception of US branded apparel in Shanghai, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 8 Iss: 2, pp.141
153
OCass, A. (2000). An assessment of consumers product, purchase decision, advertising and consumption involvement in fashion clothing. Journal of Economic Psychology, 21:545-576.
Sirirat Sae-jiu (2007). Consumer perception and attitude towards Foreign versus domestic apparel In Thailand. Available at
http://edissertations.nottingham.ac.uk/954/1/07MSclixss27.pdf

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