Given the following introduction to a study, read it carefully then answer the questions that follow: Introduction to the study: The purpose of this research is to study the effects of brand consolidation of three brands of large kitchen appliances and rebranding on brand equity and consumer attitudes. The study will inform the new business strategy of "The Building Company" in the South African building retail industry. The Building Company, a South African building materials retail operation, is the Southern African operations building material division of Magic Homes. The company's retail activities extend to 205 outlets throughout Africa, located in major centres in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, and are managed as either corporate, joint venture or franchise stores (The Buiding Company, 2019). In order to be more competitive, the executive team at The Building Company are interested in finding out more about the category and its dynamics, how these kitchen brands are faring in the building materials retail market and where the potential opportunities lie. A decision to consolidate these businesses into a single brand and operate under a new brand name was discussed at board level (Gounden, 2019). Rebranding is the introduction of a new brand name, symbol, term, design or a combination of them for a brand that is already established with the intention of creating a new, differentiated position in the mind of competitors and key stakeholders (Lambkin, 2006). Rebranding usually results from a shift in business strategy (Bhammar, 2008) which is evident in the thinking of the executive team's business strategy. A portfolio of brands can involve risk if they fail to emphasise one clear message; however, rebranding to a single brand can also carry risk if it fails to resonate with customers or is not strategically appropriate (Bhammar, 2008). Muzellec and Lambkin (2014) question the need for rebranding as it nullifies all the years of work put into building brand equity. Brand equity is a market based intangible asset that can be leveraged to rally the performance of an organisation. Brand equity is best described by Aaker (1996) as a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brands name and symbol that adds to or subtracts from the value provided by a product or service to a company and that company's customers. The research is expected to contribute to the understanding of consumer behaviour and consumer attitude towards rebranding and its effect on brand equity. Research Question 1 (derived from the case study above): What does The Building Company have to take into account to implement the rebranding strategy? Research Question 2 (derived from the case study above): How does the concept of Brand Equity shift when brand consolidation and rebranding take place?

Question:

Assuming the study is taking a quantitative approach, construct a short questionnaire with at least five (5) questions, to gather relevant data. 15 marks