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Empirical Findings
This section presents the historical background on textile industry in the city of Borås – the sampling chosen for this thesis, obtained through an unstructured interview made with the coordinator of the textile museum in the city. The section continues with the findings of the study, according to the purpose and the research questions formulated in chapter one.
Historical background of the textile industry in Borås
boras is consider the city of textile industry in Sweden. The city was founded in 1621 by King Gustav II Adolf. The reason was to give local peddlers a legal place for selling their merchandise. It has been a long tradition in the city of making textile in home by hands for centuries. At this time, there were a lot of peddlers who used to sell in homes thread and others supplies to make textile. This was an organized business which has made peddlers become wealthy, due to the fact that they could have hundreds or even thousands of employees work for them in their homes, so, when the industrialization came to Sweden it was an advantage for Borås and it was quite easy shift the workforce from homes to the factories. The knowledge, capital and labor force, allowed Borås to settle the first textile industries and become the textile industry of Sweden (P1, Coordinator of the textile museum, age 32).
In 1834, it was established the first factory in the city and since then, the textile industry started to grow fast and the managers started to face the lack of workforce. People around the world started to move to Sweden, especially to Borås in order to work in the textile industries. After the Second World War the garment industry became even bigger and Sweden had an advantage of not being involved in the war. In this context, the exportation of the Swedish textile industries started (P1, Coordinator of the textile museum, age 32).
In 1970s the textile industry went through a difficult crisis that brought along several structural changes. For many of the local companies the imported low cost products made it difficult to compete with. The manufacture moved abroad, however the textile industry still remains big in Borås, but in a completely different way. Nowadays, research, development and specialization have entered the picture. The focus is on developing solutions, through demands for better working conditions, improved ethics on the part of businesses and increase investments in the environmental towards a more sustainable world (P1, Coordinator of the textile museum, age 32).
Consumers perception and purchase intentions
Among the sixteen interviewed the most common words and associations mentioned regarding second-hand clothing were charity, reuse, cheap, environmentally good and old clothes.
All participants have bought new clothes in a period about one to two months and all of them also have bought something in a second-hand store before. The most mentioned second-hand stores among the participants were Myrorna, Erikshjälpen and Emmaus.
The most commonly purchased items from these stores were, furniture, kitchens stuff and clothes. Moreover, ten out of sixteen participants have visited a second-hand store in a period between one to two months, being the others six participants visited a second-hand store about one year ago.
Environmental concerns
The environmental concerns seemed to be important among the participants, because eleven out of sixteen participants mentioned the reuse of clothes as a good and sustainable practice regarding to the environment. The reuse of clothes avoid the production of more items, consequently, saving the environment of more destruction. Furthermore, second-hand clothing stores offering the opportunity for people rid off of the clothes that they don’t want any longer, by donating them or even selling to those stores, avoiding that undesirable clothes end up in landfills or burned.
The concerns regarding to destruction of the natural resources and pollution of the environment were pointed by participants 2 and 3
Price
The economic motivations were also pointed as an important factor regarding second-hand clothes stores among the participants. Nine out of sixteen participants mentioned economic motivation as an important factor in their perception. The price was deemed important according to the participants. Second-hand clothing stores are often cheaper compared with traditional clothes stores and it is possible to find very good quality for fair price. Moreover, it is an opportunity for people who do not have so much money,because is cheap.
Hedonic aspects
Hedonic motivations also were mentioned among the participants. Under hedonic motivations the most highlighted aspect was the uniqueness of pieces followed by fun and enjoyment. The participants explained that when they go to second-hand stores they mostly do not expect to find something in particular. When they go to those stores they are more open-minded and willing to experience different feelings (i.e. luck and happiness) when they find something special that they really like. Eight out of sixteen interviewed, that is, half of the participants pointed hedonic motivations as an important factor to purchase second-hand clothes in their perception.
Participants 2 and 17 pointed out the aspects of uniqueness as an important factor to purchase second-hand clothes from second-hand clothing stores, due to the wide variety of clothes available in those stores.
1 Introduction
1.1 From mass consumption to second-hand culture
1.2 The history of second-hand stores
1.3 Problem Discussion
1.4 Purpose
1.5 Research Questions
1.6 Delimitations
2 Literature Review
2.1 Perception
2.2 Purchase intention
2.3 Product perception and buying decision
2.4 Motivational factors towards second-hand shopping
2.5 Moderating factors towards second-hand shopping
2.6 Research framework
3 Methodology
3.1 Research Philosophy
3.2 Research Approach
3.3 Research Design
3.4 Data Collection.
3.5 Trustworthiness
3.6 Limitations
4 Empirical Findings
4.1 Historical background of the textile industry in Borås
4.2 Consumers perception and purchase intentions
4.3 Second-hand clothing consumers and stereotypes
4.4 Advantages and disadvantages of wearing second-hand clothes
4.5 Second-hand clothes: perception and purchase intention
4.6 Second-hand clothing stores in Borås
4.7 Framework Specific Findings
5 Analysis and Interpretation
5.1 General Findings
5.2 Framework Specific Findings
5.3 New Findings
6. Discussion
6.1 Managerial Implications
7 Conclusion
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CONSUMER’S PERCEPTION AND PURCHASE INTENTIONS
