Journal of International Business and Economics

LUXURY BRANDS MESMERIZE EUROPEAN RUSSIA, MOLDOVA, UKRAINE, AND BELARUS.
How Global Luxury Brands Enter the Emerging Markets of Eastern Europe
Dr. Nikolai Ostapenko, Dr. Olesea Ghedrovici

Abstract
The seductive realm of luxury continued its triumphal march after the global recession, expanding by 10% to $275 billion in value in 2013 alone (Bain and Co. Luxury Goods Worldwide Markets Monitor Report, 2013). Behind its newly regained confidence were underlying structural changes, which were mostly prompted by the pressure of negative consumer sentiment inspired by the recent recession and by “guilt fatigue.” Additionally, profound socioeconomic differences became even deeper throughout the emerging markets and led new privileged legions of customers to be enticed into global luxury consumption. Issues related to the definition and nature of luxury and to the motivational and behavioral drivers of luxury consumption in the context of various political and economic dynamics in the post-Soviet era in European Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus are the focus of our attention in this paper.

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