The Effects of Rebranding on Consumer Behaviour, Using NEXT As a Case Study

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, it would give me great pleasure to show my gratitude to my professor, for his propositions, remarks, understanding and patience. It would also be an honour to express gratitude to my parents, my mother, my father, my sister and my brother for their endless support in my life and allowing me to make all my decisions. I would also like to take the opportunity to show appreciation to my co-workers for their expert cooperation on every occasion. I would also like to be grateful to the Department, managers of the university, instructors and students who have supported me throughout this research.

I certify that the work presented in the dissertation is my own unless referenced

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DECLARATION

I declare that the content presented in this thesis/dissertation is, in my understanding and opinion, original and has not been presented for scholarly assessment in the past, either completely or partly, for an academic degree at this educational institution or elsewhere. I would also like to admit that I have studied and understood the principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines of the University regarding the higher academic degree research award and to my dissertation. I would also like to declare that I have abided by the University's principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines.

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ABSTRACT

A Brand represents one of the most important assets to a company and it may be represented by its name, logo and slogan which characterize a means by which consumers recognize, remember and recall the brand. Over time and with growing competition, many companies decide to rebrand themselves for many reasons as a way of getting a makeover, revitalizing themselves or being totally “reborn” again. The rebranding topic is important not just because many companies are doing it but perhaps also because of the tremendous cost involved. The cost of rebranding includes hiring a branding consulting firm to work on the rebranding strategy and implementation costs that follow. The changes involved in rebranding a firm from its buildings to its business cards present a picture of the tremendous amount of work to be done and all the possible cost involved. This is not to mention the possible effects on the different stakeholders, the most important of which are the customers, shareholders and of course the employees. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of rebranding on the consumer behaviour.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background1

Next Plc Company Overview2

Aims and objectives3

Research question3

Research Hypothesis3

Significance of the Study3

Structure of the thesis4

Chapter I: Introduction4

Chapter II: Literature Review5

Chapter III: Methodology5

Chapter IV: Data analysis and Discussion5

Chapter V: Conclusion5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW7

Introduction7

Retail Branding7

Brand Positioning8

Marketing Goals and Strategies9

Brand Communications11

Rebranding14

Types of Rebranding15

Drivers of Rebranding: Why Rebrand?16

Rebranding & Performance16

Conclusion18

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY20

Introduction20

The Research Process20

The study design20

Research Hypothesis21

Retrieval21

The search strategy22

Sampling23

Sample Selection Criteria24

Ethical Considerations24

Likert scale25

Conclusion25

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION27

Introduction27

Responses from the questionnaire Survey27

Consumer perception of Rebranding36

Underlying assumption38

Conclusion38

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS40

Recommendations41

REFERENCES42

APPENDIX45

Appendix A: Consent form45

Appendix B: Questionnaire Survey46

Appendix C: Responses to Questionnaire47

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background

From a social psychological perspective, a brand is ...