IFL - Leibniz-Institute for Länderkunde

Focus: The meaning of brands for emerging consumer goods industries in Bulgaria

In contrast to the mainstream of research into transition economies, this project does not concentrate on the production side of economic life but examines the consumer side, the transformation of which seems to be more subtle. The change from an all-providing planned economy to a capitalist consumer society only apparently happens "by itself". Consumer goods industries and retailing companies are actively involved in the formation of new markets for consumer goods and a new consumer culture in the postsocialist states, by means of "translation processes" in market research and advertising.

The transition "from communism to consumerism" can be interpreted as a gain in individual freedom through denationalization, but it can also be seen to lead to new "peripheral capitalisms"  with characteristics similar to colonial situations. While looking at the construction and evolution of markets for selected sectors and products in Eastern Europe and in particular in Bulgaria, productive-consumptive relationships between "East" and "West" will be examined, especially in the context of EU expansion and integration.

Ermann, Ulrich (2007): Magische Marken - Eine Fusion von Ökonomie und Kultur im globalen Konsumkapitalismus? In: Berndt, Christian / Pütz, Robert (eds.): Kulturelle Geographien. Zur Auseinandersetzung mit Ort und Raum nach dem Cultural Turn. Bielefeld: Transcript. pp. 317-347.

Ermann, Ulrich (2011): Consumer capitalism and brand fetishism: the case of fashion brands in Bulgaria. In: Andy Pike (ed.): Brand and Branding Geographies. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

Ermann, Ulrich (accepted for publication): Fashioning markets: brand geographies in Bulgaria. In: Ger Duijzings (ed.): Global Villages. London: Anthem.

Ermann, Ulrich (accepted for publication): Performing value(s): Promoting and consuming fashion in postsocialist Bulgaria. Europe-Asia Studies (Special Issue: Actually existing neoliberalisms: How do basic neoliberal concepts shift meaning in the post-socialist world?).

Ermann, Ulrich (accepted for publication): Geographien der Vermarktung und des Konsums. In: Heiko Schmid & Karsten Gäbler (ed.): Perspektiven sozialwissenschaftlicher Konsumforschung. Stuttgart: Steiner.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kristian Bankov, Southeast European Center for Semiotic Studies, New Bulgarian University, Sofia; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Petar Stojanov, Department of Geography, St. Kliment Ohridski University, Sofia; Poli Roukova, Department of Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Science, Sofia

Ulrich Ermann
U_Ermann(at)ifl-leipzig.de / ulrich.ermann(at)uni-graz.at
Tel. (Universität Graz): +43 316 380-8826