Pettinger, Lynne (2004) Brand culture and branded workers : service work and aesthetic labour in fashion retail. Consumption, Markets and Culture, 7 (2). pp. 165-184. doi:DOI: 10.1080/1025386042000246214 ISSN 1025-3866.

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Abstract

The juxtaposition between production and consumption that characterises the retail sector render it interesting for studies of work and consumption. Contemporary chain store cloth- ing retail is characterised by “lifestyle retail brands” that compete for sales through offering products and services targeted to customers of particular class, age, and gender back- grounds, and with particular orientations to fashion. This paper argues that the influence of branding and marketing in retail extends beyond components such as store design. Branding influences who is employed in a store, and what work they do. This is manifested in two main ways, through customer service provision and through how workers are embodied, both of which influence consumption by shoppers. This article draws on an innovative ethnographic study to explore the nature and meaning of customer service and aesthetic labour.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HF Commerce H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology
Journal or Publication Title:	Consumption, Markets and Culture
Publisher:	Routledge
ISSN:	1025-3866
Official Date:	2004
Dates:	Date Event 2004 Published
Volume:	7
Number:	2
Page Range:	pp. 165-184
DOI:	DOI: 10.1080/1025386042000246214
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
Funder:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)

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