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Introduction
Fashion retailers are consistently recognised as the most prolific of international retailers ([31] Hollander, 1970; [26] Fernie et al. , 1998; [11] Doherty, 2000; [46] Moore et al. , 2000; [57] Wigley and Moore, 2007). While the general fashion and general merchandise fashion retailers ([41] Moore, 2000) have been the focus of some academic attention ([36] Laulajainen, 1991; [39] Moore, 1997; [11] Doherty, 2000; [16] Doherty and Alexander, 2004, [17] 2006), luxury or designer fashion retailers have attracted more consistent attention and form the basis of the current work ([37] Laulajainen, 1992; [27] Fernie et al. , 1997; [46] Moore et al. , 2000; [45] Moore et al. , 2004). This growing body of research has addressed the issues of location, global branding and luxury brand management ([27] Fernie et al. , 1997, [26] 1998; [46] Moore et al. , 2000; [42] Moore and Birtwistle, 2004; [47] Moore and Wigley, 2004; [43] Moore and Birtwistle, 2005). Implicit in many of these studies is the entry mode strategy adopted by luxury fashion retailers when entering foreign markets. Franchising and wholesaling warrant particular attention ([45] Moore et al. , 2004); however, the importance of flagship stores as an international market entry method has been somewhat neglected despite its centrality to the internationalisation strategy of these firms ([46] Moore et al. , 2000).
Entry mode strategy is typically defined as "an institutional arrangement that makes possible the entry of a company's products, technology, human skills, management or other resources into a foreign country" ([55] Root, 1987, p. 5). Entry mode research has been dominated by studies on the manufacturing sector and, to a lesser extent, the service sector, with little acknowledgement of the specifics of retail firms ([21] Erramilli, 1990; [25] Erramilli and Rao, 1993; [56] Sarkar and Cavusgil, 1996; [35] Kumar and Subramaniam, 1997). Despite the fundamental importance of entry mode choice to the success or otherwise of an international venture, relatively few studies have examined entry-mode strategy by retailers ([10] Doherty, 1999, [11] 2000). According to [8] Dawson (1994), retailers can enter foreign markets via internal expansion, merger or takeover, franchising, joint venture and through a non-controlling interest. However, when we examine the specifics of the luxury fashion sector it is clear that entry modes...