A discussion of a luxury apparel brand strategy in an emerging market: Conceptual model with network perspectives

This study explores the Burberry apparel brand’s position and its strategic behaviour seeking new customers in the new market. This exploratory research pays particular attention to business potential and opportunities in an emerging market, Vietnam. To evaluate Burberry’s strategies and the potential, the collaborative network relationships are discussed in details, that is followed by the discussion of the key themes for Burberry to consider in the Vietnamese market, where Burberry has recently begun expanding its businesses. The outcome of the study suggests that the Western luxury brand apparel needs to understand the targeted markets’ systems and consumer behaviour, from there it is inevitable to design strategic plan how to engage the stakeholders in the ubiquitous supply chain relationships. In the end, a conceptual model with network perspectives is proposed: The model will be an analytical framework with key agenda items for the luxury brand which aims to enter the new market, and also the research limitations and further research opportunities are discussed

Epicardial Surface Area of Infarction:A Stable Surrogate of Microvascular Obstruction in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Item does not contain fulltextBACKGROUND: Microvascular obstruction (MO) is a pathophysiologic complication of acute myocardial infarction that portends poor prognosis; however, it is transient and disappears with infarct healing. Much remains unknown regarding its pathophysiology and whether there are predictors of MO that could function as stable surrogates. We tested for clinical and cardiovascular magnetic resonance predictors of MO to gain insight into its pathophysiology and to find a stable surrogate. METHODS: Three hundred two consecutive patients from 2 centers underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance within 2 weeks of first acute myocardial infarction. Three measures of infarct morphology: infarct size, transmurality, and a new index-the epicardial surface area (EpiSA) of full-thickness infarction-were quantified on delayed-enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance. RESULTS: Considering all clinical characteristics, only measures of infarct morphology were independent predictors of MO. EpiSA was the strongest predictor of MO and provided incremental predictive value beyond that of infarct size and transmurality (P<0.0001). In patients with 3-month follow-up cardiovascular magnetic resonance (n=81), EpiSA extent remained stable while MO disappeared, and EpiSA was a predictor of adverse ventricular remodeling. After 20 months of follow-up, 11 died and 1 had heart transplantation. Patients with an EpiSA larger than the median value (≥6%) had worse outcome than those with less than the median value (adverse events: 6.4% versus 1.9%, P=0.045). CONCLUSIONS: The EpiSA of infarction is a novel index of infarct morphology which accurately predicts MO during the first 2 weeks of MI, but unlike MO, does not disappear with infarct healing. This index has potential as a stable surrogate of the presence of acute MO and may be useful as a predictor of adverse remodeling and outcome which is less dependent on the time window of patient assessment