Is studying Luxury Management from Europe a great idea ?

“There is a great difference between knowing and understanding: you can know a lot about something and not really understand it” 

- Charles F. Kettering -

I am sure a lot of students take Europe as an option to study Luxury Brand Management.

And of course why not? This is only logical since Europe houses most of the Luxury Brands of the world.

But do you really think that doing a Luxury Management course from Europe is the gateway to a career in the luxury industry ??  

While this is true if one could secure employment in Europe, but are there enough jobs available there for a fresher to start his career ??

Why are more and more brands in a outward expansion mode and reaching out to fast emerging markets like India, China and other BRICS regions ??

If one does a quick SWOT on a Luxury Management Course from Europe, one could list the following :

Strengths :

1.      Home to most of the established luxury brands and hence exposure to a great base and historical origin.

2.      Multinational environment for learning and deep diving into the subject.

Opportunities :

1.      Linking up with brand managers and luxury professionals who control global markets.

2.      Trips to brand maisons and creation facilities.

Weakness :

1.      Exposure to a global travelling customer only who may be a very small percentage of the customer you may need to handle in your home country of employment.

2.      Cost of education and sustenance is extremely high.

Threats :

1.      Constant pressure on political and economic situations to restrict work visa for expats with increased preference to local talent.

2.      Poor or no employment opportunities in Europe.

On the flipside, if you are really serious about a career in the luxury space, you should perhaps educate yourselves to understand that opportunities are currently available highest in the India Luxury Space. The sector has been growing at a steady pace of 20-25% CAGR for past several years and is estimated to be 18.3 b USD currently. Besides, the sector needs some 5.3 m talented heads to manage this growth !

Hence if you plan to study LBM from Europe, do consider the flip side as :  

1.      They do not teach you according to the Indian market.

2.      People abroad have a very different mindset in comparison to the Indian mentality.

3.      They do not understand the Indian market.

4.      Luxury is not treated the same way as it is treated in India .

5.      Many of the students do not find a job in the same country due to language barrier, visa  & immigration rules etc.

On the other hand, Let's analyse the advantages of studying Luxury Brand Management from the B-schools  in India:

1.      The course is designed according to the market.

2.      You learn how the market functions in the particular sector.

3.      You will be updated with the current market activities where you would work.

4.      You would pay half of the tuition fee which you pay to the international university.

5.      Better job scenario here than in any European country.

6.      No language barrier.

7.      You have a better job opportunity because you know the market.

8.      You get a good salary.

Studying from any European country especially a course which is market driven, would not fetch you a great job because of the fact that you do not understand the Retail market in India besides that the ROI you expect will take a few years to break even due disparity in what you spend in Europe to what you earn in India !

Being  very well versed with the market scenario you are planning to work in is good  for a better growth prospect.

As a matter of fact, people who are already working in the industry want to gain knowledge about the Indian market to have better opportunities.

Take a informed decision to invest your time and resources well.

Visit To The Leela Palace

“Hospitality is when someone feels at home in your presence”

Hospitality is simply an action to show love and care. And that’s exactly what we witnessed when we paid a visit to The Leela Palace, Delhi.  The hotel opened in the year 2011 and is a perfect choice for both business and pleasure. The Leela Palace New Delhi reflects the grace and architecture of a beautifully made Palace and the moment you set your foot in, everything epitomizes the same. The hotel has a total of 254 rooms of 550sq. ft and above, equipped with latest technology. The hotel also houses some of the best restaurants and Spa options for its guests. The Leela Palace is known for its luxury hospitality and has won many accreditation and awards, including being in the Top 4 Best of the Best Hotels in the World, by Robb Report in 2012.

Luxury Connect Business School arranged for us to attend the luxury conference that was to take place at The Leela Palace followed by a tour to explore the quintessential luxury property. Right from the entry to the exit, the staff that came in contact with us during the entire duration was extremely humble and polite. They greeted us with a big smile and a polite Namaste. On the day of our visit, the hotel was having a very busy day, with all the rooms being occupied, a luxury conference taking place and some foreign delegates visiting. In spite of it, the General Manager of the hotel was helpful enough and arranged for a staff member to take us around the property. The hotel has imbibed the palace theme in their décor, lighting, and the overall ambiance. A walk through the corridors gave a feeling of grandeur and everything right from the beautiful lamps, the chandeliers, the intricate brass work and fresh roses kept at every corner and tables added to the enchanting experience. As informed by their staff, the hotel orders 14000 roses every third day and uses them to adorn their entire property. No wonder, wherever my eyes wandered, I found fresh roses and flowers!

Besides the décor, the hotel has a wonderful and massive lobby which was recently decorated for Christmas with a huge tree in the middle. Along with tree, the hotel had made a Gingerbread house as well that stocked different kinds of breads, cookies and desserts. Facing the lobby through a see-through glass is a hidden garden with all exotic flowers planted around with a beautiful Buddha statue in the center. The staff also took us around their restaurants offering continental, Japanese and multi-cuisines. Their Japanese restaurant had an outdoor seating and was a treat to the eyes. The cold winter weather and seating’s amidst natural flowers and trees made it one of my favorite spots in the entire hotel. Besides this, an outpost of the New York favorite, the Le Cirque in Leela Palace Delhi shines in terms of the service and location. It’s on the 10^th floor and provides a breathtaking view of the capital. The evening we visited, the view was enhanced by the recently settled fog and the restaurant was automatically added to my bucket list to be visited with family in future. For me as a customer and a visitor, the hotel ticks all the boxes as far as food, service, and décor are concerned.

The true culture of The Leela was experienced in those few minutes I spent in the lobby. From welcoming the delegates and the guests with utmost warmth, garlands and refreshments to general greeting and a smiling face put forth by the staff for the people sitting in the lobby, everything made the guests feel like the jewel on the cushion of hospitality. As a student of LCBS, it was our privilege to experience the luxury of this level at first hand and understand that it’s not important what job you do, but how you do it! As an aspiring luxury professional, the field visit was truly enriching and beneficial to shape up our personality traits and be industry ready for the dynamic industry.

(By: Mehak Sareen)

LUXURY & THE INCREDIBLE INDIAN AFFLUENT – TOP TEN MISCONCEPTIONSBy ABHAY GUPTA, Founder & CEO – Luxury Connect & Luxury Connect Business School, New Delhi, India

2016 comes to an eventful end with various upheavals across the globe. Ranging from terror attacks in Europe; the Brexit fiasco in Great Britain; the unexpected victory of Donald Trump in USA and to the last but not the least, the demonetization drive by Prime Minister Modi in India.

All these factors have had adverse and or positive impacts on the luxury domain. Global luxury industry valued at a whopping 1 trillion Euro in 2015 (Bain & Co) registered a mere 5% growth over 2014. The global luxury market has reached an era of single digit growth.

However, as the rest of the world stabilizes, the Indian growth story is hard to discount. For most luxury brands, India has become the ‘hottest market place’. Growing at approximately 25% CAGR, it is estimated to have reached $18.3 billion from $14.75 billion in 2015.

The single biggest factor contributing to this growth is the steep rise of the affluent class due to the stellar performance of the economy and the ‘start up’ culture. Estimates reveal that the number of HNI households have grown at a CAGR of 16% from 81,000 in 2011-12 to 146,600 in 2015-16. This is further expected to increase to 294,000 representing a total net with of IRS 319 trillion !

While there is a tremendous buoyancy around the affluent Indian & his luxury consumption, there are clearly a few misconceptions in the minds of the marketeers.

1.      The affluent Indian makes & spends money easily: This perhaps is the biggest misconception going around. Making a Indian spend his money is a acid test for any brand. India typically has two types of affluent – ‘The khandani raaes’ (traditional rich) and or the ‘New Maharaja’ (people who made money post partition in 1947). Both of them work long hours, forego a lot of personal time, make sacrifices, undertake a lot more risk  & add value to the society as compared to many others.  Hence, they are cautious spenders & research well before they splurge on luxury, only to seek the best. The traditional rich, being generally well-informed & highly knowledgeable, likes to preserve his heritage and wealth handed over by the generations. The new maharaja, on the other hand, having made the entire wealth in his own lifetime, is a cautious, hard working and extremely value-seeking customer. His erstwhile middle class background makes him seek justification for every spend he carries out.

Both seek respect for their time, recognition for their hard work, status and individuality – do not take them for granted.

2.      All Indian Nouveau rich are conspicuously ostentatious spenders:  While this may be true for a vast variety of customers visiting luxury stores, it is a grave mistake to generalize all the nouveau rich into logo thirsty clientele. Fact remains that many of the ‘valuation business’ (read e-commerce boom) super rich generation have made quick money in the past few years. Usually of highly technical background, the back end culture they belonged to never give them any real need for all things fancy & expensive. They now wish to acquire style to suit their status, which is not necessarily loud, & logo driven. They are shy as well respectful towards others, typically will experiment with brands, products, services. Influenced by other user experiences rather than just pure sales talk in their decision making process, they usually like to be subtle and elegant rather than loud and garish.

Treat them with respect for their human values and admiration for the success they have achieved in a short span of time. Not many can duplicate what they have achieved in a very short span of time.

3.      Most (new) Indian affluent can’t define luxury nor recognize luxury brands: On the contrary, most of them are clear with their definition of luxury. To mistake their simplicity for ignorance can be a fatal mistake. In a fast emerging market like India, they may not recognize the brand or even get the brand name pronunciations wrong. However, each one has his own purchase motivations, which may run beyond the standard boardroom definition of luxury. They are fast learners and would like you to arrive at the value proposition of your brand quickly.

‘Underestimate yourself & overestimate the other’ can be a sure shot success mantra. Inform, educate, guide and lead them to purchase.

4.      Luxury is the sole prerogative of the affluent class:  On the contrary, in a country like India, luxury is a bigger pull for various other classes. These range from the Henry, the upper middle class, the returning NRI, to the first time aspirant. (Read ‘The Incredible Indian Luxury Consumer). Luxury brands and services need to address and offer products that can draw in all such classes into their zone and create a much wider reach, recognition and goodwill for the brand.

India is a market with a majorly unexposed population – people with rich tastes and high cultural values seek all things good in life. Expand your horizon beyond the theory book definition.

5.      Indian affluent spend more on luxury goods than services:  There can be no bigger misnomer than this. While the initial spends are towards luxury goods like watches, apparels, accessories, automobile followed by home and interior, the switch to services happens quickly. The newly acquired status needs to be shared and appreciated by near & dear ones extending into a wider social circle. Spending on beauty, fitness, entertainment, fine dining, concierge, travel, tourism etc quickly ramp up the spend chart.

Offer compelling experiences to them and their circle of friends to enable them feel important in the eyes of their social network.

6.      Indians do not shop Luxury online:  A generally tech oriented nation, thanks to the smart phone revolution, the customer has quickly leap frogged into the digital space! From books to cars to homes and now even yachts are being sold online. Newer concepts like ‘Pre-owned luxury’; ‘Rent a luxury’ are not only adding new dimensions to luxury purchases but also new customers.

Be open to experiment and adapt to a fast evolving market.

7.      Indian affluent and Luxury is restricted to metro’s: Contrary to popular belief, the Indian affluent is spread across the entire country. Luxury brands do face a challenge with respect to setting up physical stores in every location, but servicing this fragmented market may be the key to success. The digi-wave has given many new customers to the luxury brands.  They now order through various channels ranging from wats app to face book messenger to trunk shows conducted by brands or event companies across the sub-continent.

Think beyond the metro’s – reach out, inform, educate the affluent beyond traditional markets.

8.      Indian affluent does not refer to consumer ratings:  The sharing economy encourages one and all to share experiences, thoughts, opinions and post purchase reactions. Once again, a typically technologically inclined nation, engages with unknown brands basis not only the opinions shared by the brand website but also other uses comments and reactions. This is particularly so in the service sector. While WOM is the universal promoter for luxury goods & services, online referrals are equally important for a wider reach.

Be true to the customer by sharing genuine advice & information rather than exaggerated claims. The customer is in all probability pre-informed.

9.      Indian affluent in not brand loyal: While most Indian are yet experimenting with luxury brands and services, the fact remains that by basic nature Indians are generally very loyal – to their wives as well as their brands ! Affluent who have done the entire trial cycle swear by the brand they settle with unless until they encounter some quality or service issue.  

Ensure to deliver product and service value every time that the customer shops with you. Do not take him for granted.

10.  Demonetization will affect luxury consumption: Against popular belief, a informal survey with most brands across goods & services show that the affluent and the brands both have embraced the digitization drive for money transfer very well. Post an initial lull and slow down, it is anticipated that business will be back to normal very soon.

Luxury surely is recession proof – unaffected by shocks in the economy or otherwise. The Indian affluent continues to enjoy his taste of all good things in life.

The Changing Face of Luxury In India

In the past few years, luxury in India has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 25 per cent. As per a report by Assocham, the market is expected to exceed $18.6 billion by 2016-17. Interestingly, as per Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog, the luxury industry in India has the potential to grow 10-fold from its current size and reach a topline of $180 billion by 2025.The Indian luxury landscape is clearly experiencing strong evolutionary undercurrents that are redefining the consumer profile and also how luxury players need to operate in this domain.

Service areas such as fine dining, electronics, luxury travel, luxury personal care and jewellery have seen increasing revenues and are expected to grow 30-35 per cent over the next three years. Audi 8Spending on luxury cars continues to rise growing upwards of 18-20 per cent. As the purchasing power of women is rising in India, luxury beauty products market is witnessing a fast-paced growth. According to Euromonitor International, the luxury product categories that have recorded considerable growth are luxury jewellery as well as timepieces, luxury writing instruments/stationery; super premium beauty/personal care products, luxury electronic gadgets and luxury tobacco.

Besides, the Indian luxury market is developing many facets. Luxury is no longer restricted to the rich and famous alone; the new age consumers, who do not typically fit into the boardroom definition of luxury consumers, are staking claims to luxury products, brands and services, but on their own terms.

Luxury is no longer the privilege of the few who were born into wealth. There is now a larger consumer base, which has the money to splurge but want a real value proposition. Going forward, this will be the biggest challenge faced by luxury brands this year.

It is against this backdrop that one needs to study the key challenges presented by the changing face of luxury in India:

• Value proposition: One of the key challenges for luxury industry is to establish a right “value” equation in the Indian consumer minds. Commensurate value — given the craftsmanship of the product , the brand pedigree and heritage, and therefore its impact on their status — professionally in business and in society. In a country obsessed with ‘quantity over quality’ — the ‘kitna deti hai’ syndrome cannot be ignored.

• Targeting a first-time buyer: India throws up surprises to one and all. McDonald has to invent a McAloo tikki burger priced at Rs 25 and created especially for India. BMW, Audi, and Mercedes Benz have all realised the potential of this ‘first-time luxury buyer’. It cannot be ignored and yet needs to be treated well like any other luxury consumer. Rolls royceThe definition of luxury consumer is changing rapidly in India. Intimidation created by the aura of the brand, lack of brand knowledge, enthusiasm to obtain a social status symbol are key elements that a brand needs to cater to.

• Mental barrier to conspicuous consumption: While a set of customers wants to flaunt its luxury purchase, there is another which is vary of conspicuous consumption. The ‘nazar lag jayegi’ syndrome drives away many a shy customer. This is a mindset issue which the brands/franchisee need to tackle. Rewarding oneself for success achieved after hard work needs to be celebrated — the Cadbury ‘kuch meetha ho jaye’ campaign says it all.

Welcome this shy, first-time buyer with grace, dignity and respect.

• Retail environment: More brands, more services, more customers — they all need the right retail environment. Luxury retail infrastructure is nonexistent and street level environments are often unkempt. This forces luxury brands to generally launch boutiques in luxury malls or hotels. ‘Hybrid malls’ — the Select City Walk in New Delhi and The Palladium in Mumbai are the best examples of transitional customer behaviour when the customer moves up the value chain.

• Talent: With so many varied customers shopping luxury, a key challenge is talent. Cannot be too sophisticated to scare away the new customer, at the same time cannot be too ordinary to make an aristocratic customer shy away. Driving this balance in line with the brand’s cultural customer experience is perhaps the biggest operational challenge for any franchisee or brand. Train, educate, invest and believe in your staff — this could be the best way to empower your talent.

• Regulatory Cholesterol : (a) Foreign direct investment restrictions are keeping brands out of India, 51 per cent foreign ownership is the limit; 100 per cent is allowed but only with 30 per cent local sourcing which many brands find difficult to comply with. Recent amendment of elongated relaxations of initial period is confusing and unclear to most. Brands fear for dilution of their name and harm to their business models.

(b) Import tariffs are high at an average 30-40 per cent, which causes simple price parity and margin issues for retailers. It is hence often cheaper for Indians to buy abroad.

(c) The presence of “knock off” products in the local market. The local market is much more open/susceptible to trade in fake goods. As per Assocham, the size of the counterfeit luxury goods market in India was estimated to be a whopping Rs 5,600 crore in 2015.

(d) Multiple taxes across the country maintaining a single MRP with differential taxes across states has been a challenge till date. Recent GST rollout is, however, expected to ease this by April 2017

(e) Crackdown on big ticket purchases by the IT department. Revision of cash transaction limits to Rs 2 lakh from the earlier Rs 50,000 could help the luxury sectors like fashion, footwear, low-end jewellery/watches; bags and accessories, etc.

However, recent reports about legitimate big ticket purchase items being targeted by IT officials is expected to affect sales. Customers just want to avoid the harassment value and prefer to shop abroad.

(f) Ease of doing business, including general infrastructure of roads, airports, warehouses, add further to the challenges. Besides, real estate is heavily regulated for a brand to want to build ground up.

As the disposable income of the aspiring consumers in India rises, and the share of men and women as a separate category keeps further increasing, luxury and bridge brands will continue to outperform.

Brands and businesses need a conducive environment from all fronts to help create a presence and maintain personal touch with customers across platforms. Focus on maximising the efficiency of supply chain and human capital by training their associates will be the ones to increase conversion and retention.

The journey has just begun!

Good Earth

This time we got a chance to visit the pioneers of handcrafted luxury goods of India, The Good Earth. Mrs. Saswati Roy, VP wholesale and exports guided us through the whole visit. She shared her experience with the brand and how Mrs. Anita Lal, the founder of Good Earth started with the brand in India. Overall experience with Good Earth was very knowledgeable and beneficial. As soon as we entered the store it had a sense of peace, the atmosphere inside the store was very positive. Maybe the store was designed in such a way, or the products were reflecting their brand’s identity, or the music was the reason, or the fragrance it had made the overall environment peaceful. We were very lucky because the day we were visiting the store, Good Earth was launching its new range of wall coverings. The thing I really liked about Good Earth was that, they have designed the stores with their own range of products which is really creative and commendable. I am really thankful to LCBS for organizing such a beneficial store visit and to Mrs. Roy for sharing her experience and sparing her valuable time talking to us.  Looking forward to many more visits like this. 

                                                                        - By Gitansh Kumar

                                                                                                 Luxury Professional Student
                                                                                                 PGDLM (2016-2017)  

Masters Degree In Luxury Brand Management

Why masters? When we have Diplomas and graduates in luxury management. You see, you are already late in making qualified personnel for the luxury brand sector. Diplomas and graduates are busy managing the luxury brand sector; it is a herculean task in itself; it is managing people and their desires. Managing people, the toughest job; predicting peoples’ behaviour most uncertain. To understand these things and come out with innovated ideas and the process to apply them needs a lot of deep learning and research. This is where we need masters, not only in luxury brand management but in every field. Therefore, the luxury sector needs some talented people with deep analysing mind and vision take ahead the luxurious journey by doing Masters degree in luxury brand management. Many a time style innovation starts with a silly idea and ends with hot style. It’s all about patience and playing with ideas.

Basic requirements for joining master’s degree in Luxury brand management are: -·  

•      Graduate degree in any stream with a first class score or first class in Luxury brand               management program.

•      Good communicational skill.

•      Good proficiency in the English language.

•           Good analytic skill.

•          Good vision of and aptitude for luxury and style.

•          Approx. 10 to 15 years of experience in the luxury business.

At present, one can do master’s degree in Luxury brand management from abroad only. One can apply through Luxury Connect Business School; they are the India partner for Monaco Luxury Brand Management School of France.This is a two years’ program. They offer three different areas of specialisation. Luxury Event management. Retail store management. Luxury goods and luxury services management. Any specialisation will take you to the upper layer of the champions of luxury Business in respective sectors. Some champion brands that we may meet and work for are - Mercedes, Royal Enfield, Jimmy Choo, Audi, The Grand, Google, Facebook, Rolex, let’s stop no use making the list long.My suggestion, dream of joining a big luxury company, join Monaco via Luxury Connect Business School of India, excel in your program and meet your beloved company. Just leave 1% to destiny, 99% is on you.