The Impact of a Flagship vs. a Brand Store on Brand Attitude, Brand Attachment and Brand Equity

•Store image strongly impacts brand attitude, brand attachment, and brand equity through the mediation of brand experience.•Brand experience is introduced as a new mediator to the academic retailing literature.•For the same brand, the store type (flagship vs. brand store) moderates the impact of store image on brand experience.•The impact of store image on brand experience is increased for the flagship.•Consumers’ in-store brand experiences can be increased by appealing to their emotions, senses, behaviors, and cognition.

How can flagships and brand stores contribute to building brands? We inquire about the relationships between store image, brand experience, brand attitude, brand attachment and brand equity using store intercepts. We find that flagships, due to the powerful brand experiences they allow, have a stronger impact on brand attitude, brand attachment and brand equity compared to brand stores. We provide retail marketers with avenues to offer increased in-store brand experiences by appealing to consumers’ emotions, senses, behaviors, and cognition.

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