BLOG ON INDUSTRY VISIT : LCBS

BY: Vinay Lal

Me and my classmates from Luxury Connect Business School were taken for an industry visit to stores and outlets from 4 industries namely automobile, personal grooming, real estate and hospitality.

It was a wonderful experience since all the industries were of the luxury sector and I was spellbound since I had never experienced such a high level of of luxury so closely. Our first visit was to the BMW showroom where we were warmly greeted.

After having some water we were divided into four groups of five students each and each group was allotted a sales executive after which they started briefing us about the cars, sales process and customer handling, we were invited to sit inside the cars and experience the interiors. My group got to sit inside the all new 2017 5 series. It had beautiful interiors draped in beige colored leather and a big sunroof with all led surround lighting. The car had an amazing trick up its sleeves which was the gesture control for the music system in which the audio system could be controlled just by using hand gestures. After that a few of us got to sit in the BMW X3 SUV and experienced the beautiful sounding 12 speaker harmon kardon music system.

After that it was time for a quick lunch at a mall and then we were headed to our next destination which was the luxury barbershop known as Truefitt and Hill (oldest barbershop in the world). On entering the store we were greeted by the store manager who started explaining to us about Truefitt and Hill's rich heritage and history. I couldn't help notice the warm and royal interiors of the store which was done in wood and granite all over. There was light and pleasant music playing in the background. In the grooming room there were around 8 barber chairs which had black leather upholstery. Then we were shown around The Royal Suite which is meant for people who prioritize privacy highly such as politicians and celebrities. There was a huge collection of grooming products  on display at the store which included hair waxes and pomades, perfumes, aftershaves, serums, shaving razors, brushes, balms, etc. We got to smell samples of the exquisite smelling perfumes.

Our next stop was the super luxurious residency named Ireo by Grand Hyatt. On reaching the place we were taken in groups inside the main building in an electric shuttle. On entering the building we were taken to a big room which had the whole model for the entire residency which included a big park, office area, area for shopping complex, residency area, etc., which was an ecosystem in itself. Two attendants dressed in  black and white suit offered us a menu for welcome drinks. The menu had an exquisite range of welcome drinks including two types of champagne, plain water, flavored water, sparkling water, latte, hot coffee, cold coffee, a variety of cold drinks. A gentleman dressed in a cream colored suit who explained the residency model to us and then we were again divided into 4 groups to be taken to the sample apartment. After having coke the person took our group for the apartment tour. We went through the lift and it opened right into the apartment, which was something exquisite.The apartment was super luxurious. It had huge and beautiful interiors with contrasting decor and accessories along with all modern functions. There were huge glass areas to let in natural light. The best part of this apartment model was that they would be serviced and maintained by the staff from Hyatt which ensures a very high standard of quality and professionalism.

Finally it was time to visit the last sector which was the hospitality sector. We landed inside The Roseate hotel. This luxury hotel has beautiful architecture and designing which is visually very appealing. On reaching the place we noticed leaves covering the inside walls of the garage which we later came to know was completely made of brass and was designed to reduce noice pollution inside the hotel since the hotel was located right on the highway. What an intelligent and magnificent structure it was! On going inside the hotel we were given tour of the main attractions of the hotel which included the Chinese restaurant, coffee shop, boutiques, conference hall, and finally the super luxurious and modern rooms which had graceful interiors and a few selected rooms were directly connected to a swimming pool which is the longest swimming pool in Delhi. All the controls of the room were connected to an apple Ipad. Thus we completed our industry visit and got to learn so much about the essence of luxury in various sectors which was earlier unmarked territory for all of us.

Luxury Brand Management - LCBS

A highly detail oriented, intricate industry, the Luxury Business has been constantly evolving over the years. A profound expression of the exquisite art of living, It is an exclamation of choice - what you want, how you want it and when you want it. With the evolution of luxury brands which cover every spectrum of a flamboyant lifestyle, a willing consumer has an array of goods and services to choose from. Hence, luxury is an integral as well as an exclusive segment of the market which sells dreams. 

Luxury brand management can be best described as an interdisciplinary subject that applies time-tested management practices to businesses that offer premium services. The treatment of these basic     principles when handling luxury goods and services take a completely new dimension much beyond just normal innovation. The primary role of a luxury brand manager is to understand the heritage and history of the brand and to communicate / map associate the Brands’ DNA values with a potential set of clients. This person is responsible for the sometimes difficult task of keeping the brand popular while retaining its exclusivity, i.e. ensuring that the brand remains a popular and favoured choice amongst both - the  aspirers of luxury  in terms of desire, and the elite in terms of purchase

The accessibility and rarity of extraordinary brands which revolve around the extravagant tastes of an individual is what broadens the scope of luxury brand management. The scope of luxury management in India is so wide, yet the majority is unaware about the situation of this exquisite segment which lacks efficiency in terms of human resource. Luxury products and services are openly available but the right skills to pitch, manage, operate, market and sell them is an area with untapped potential. The vast number of management programs in India are enormous but they hardly cater to the untapped potential of luxury brand management careers.  An masters in luxury brand management is important because this is a growth area that goes beyond normal luxuries associated with retail to some very interesting areas such as luxury hospitality, catering, fashion, recreational services, or in other words, experiential luxury.

A non-existent sector till just a few years ago, luxury brand management now offers exciting career opportunities. It requires an understanding of heritage brands and the ability to network with niche market segments. The overall scope of this panel is derived from client based experience which is a formidable asset for the sustenance of a luxury brand. Candidates are given a holistic idea about luxury brand management so they can contribute accordingly in this field. It provides the necessary tools to an individual to bridge the gap between the experimental pleasures of luxury and a consumer as per demand. It provides a better understanding of what's in the luxury market and identify the right goods and services for fulfilling a client's needs.

The objective of luxury brand management as a professional course at Luxury Connect Business School is to nurture it's candidates in accordance with the decorum of this industry. Firstly, it is culturally global in geography. Secondly, it is a growing sector of the modern economy which needs more attention. Thirdly, it is based on serious research underpinning the people involved in this field. The learning platform itself is pioneered by experts who've managed and delivered luxury at a commercial level. With a concoction of expertise, practicality,  innovation and style, a specialisation in the field of luxury brand management helps an individual become a connoisseur of luxury and rightfully contribute to this industry.

Industrial Visit - Luxury Connect Business School (LCBS)

By : Pooja Maurya

Haah! Finally I 'm here on the bridge of my career at Luxury Connect Business School (LCBS) with lots of positive energy, excitement and high hopes to sharpen myself so that in 10 months I be a shining diamond. On 23rd of August, 2017 my journey beginned by getting into new phase of life in new City to persue my post-graduate diploma in luxury management. Luxury for me is happiness which comforts and satisfies my desires. This course offered me to take ma passion for fashion and materialistic lifestyle as my fortune career.

The first day we came to know that we are a batch of 13 students from different background in education field and with different age group, which excited me, even more. We were introduced to one another and to our Founder & CEO Mr Abhay Gupta and also to our Campus Director Mr Rajat Bhatacharya. And also to our senior batch.  Abhay sir introduced what luxury and luxury management is and also quoted as "Cash rich- time poor". It's so true and I was totally touched and understood the value of it.

The next day was unbelievable; we were taken to four different sector of luxury Industry. The first they took us too BMW (Automobile) next to Trufitt & Hill (Wellness) followed by the grand Hyatt Residency (Real Estate) and finally to The Roseate hotel (Hospitality). I hardly could imagine of such things but it happened on second day in a high profiled manner with their photographer and creative team.

The third day pot of homesickness was full and I reached to my class to give presentation on experience of our industry visit. There I had fight with my mind and I stepped out of my comfort zone but with that chaos I expressed my experience through ppt but couldn't deliver it completely. Later, Abhay sir introduced to our subjects semester wise but that also couldn't calm my mind. The second half time we had Panel discussion where they shared their experience and successful story which helped me to push away my mixed feeling of being away from home and achieving my goal. It also helped me to set my mind. "Life is not easy" I know the meaning now. Life is all about creating and recreating successful stories where you put lots of efforts, hard works, dedication and the whole process go through to be a successful person.

The first three days of school has changed my whole concept of Luxury. It has wide range of luxury industries in different sectors. LCBS is all about everyday learning. Noah! I must be specific; it's about practical learning what u can implement in day today life and in luxury industry. Here, the whole concept of teaching and learning is different.

Luxury Can Never Be Defined

   By: Mayank

Luxury can never be defined, it can only be experienced, they say .This statement can be backed up by variety of examples for instance, a not so fortunate kid unable to go out and play along with the same aged kids in the basketball court. The reason being he suffers from sclerosis. A beggar seeking a meal. considering other examples like a lady looking forward to an exotic vacation, or a gentlemen planning to upgrade his hatchback .

Thanks to Luxury connect business school batch 4, I was fortunate enough to get exposed to another level of lifestyle. A Lifestyle I wouldn't mention but rather say a necessity. Necessity for some people,who believe in standing out of the crowd.We were taken to sectors like automotive, personal goods, Real-estate and hospitality, to broaden our perspective towards the segments.

Allow me to escort you to the journey of electrifying, enchanting and astonishing world of luxury,starting with BMW. We entered the showroom and we were greeted by performance driven people like the brand , divided into groups we were handed over to the sales team,we were explained everything from the product knowledge to the basics of  sales process and we even got to witness the recent update in the all new 5 series THE AUTO PARK ASSIST which was never introduced in the Indian marker in any premium segment before.signing off we moved towards the oldest Barber Shop in the world (Guinness book of world records 2000) 

As soon as we stepped into Truefitt and hill, the Manager was already there to help us out with all the cliche queries of ours, mesmerised by the fragrance and the ambience we got to see all the famous faces from the history, how they were treated and that their legacy is still continued in the current information era as well.we even got to see all the grooming products and fragrances.

when you are all drained from the hustle throughout the day ,all we need is a good nap in our bedroom,and if your bedroom happens to be in grand Hyatt residence, ah!! nothing can stop you from reaching home,Ireo happend to be an ultimate combination of sheer luxury and the modern engineering,where the privacy of client is given the topmost priority and the design reflects the same.

After a quick snack session, we headed towards our final destination The Roseate ,where everything was so huge and luxurious ,from the Chinese themed restaurant to a multi cuisine fine dining. 

In all these sectors, attention to detail and the pride towards their brand made the brand stand out and made us fall in love.Looking forward for the same in future 

Best Part of Luxury World

By: Tushar Sharma
Automobile, real estate, grooming, hospitality. Such heavy words and then visiting the best place, eminent industries working under this category was totally a mind –boggling experience. I was astonished to see how massively these industries are growing and was stunned to see their high budgeted project undertaking. I was feeling immensely privileged on getting to experience the inside of these enormously flourishing industries which plays a vita role in development of the economy of the nation

Visit to the showroom of BMW and roseate was best among all the visits. Having a deep-rooted childhood interest in automobile and then getting to visit the BMW showroom which further motivated me to sharpen and refine my research and intelligence in the field of automobile on the other hand roseate resort which I must say is one of the great example of architectural design. I have visited numerous resorts but the actual meaning of the word “luxury” stationed in my mind and heart after visiting this resort.

Talking about grooming and real estate respectively. The truefitt & hill blew off my mind. I had not never ever heard nor did see such premium salon fully well equipped with all the style and show bizz on the lighter side. I never thought that haircut could also be so high-rated

Realestate ahhh! The most expensive one. The concept of THE GRAND HYATT RESIDENCES will change the living standard of the people and basically the feeling of living in the luxury. I was astonished to see area that the grand hyatt is covering and it has all the things which full fill the human needs and wants.  Like if we talk about services they are providing such as valet parking, maid services , and the different aisle for the maid , living besides the 5* hotel , and a massive park to roam around .

To put it in a nutshell visiting all such sites was truly a mouth-watering, eye-shutting, unimaginable experience what all together gave me a great push to my mental determination to work hard so that one day I can lead such luxurious and lavish lifestyle.

Social Media plays an important role

By: Rahul Dhall

Social Media plays an important role, the motive behind saying this is related to my life journey. whereas doing my Graduation from Amity university in Information technology was great fun, further plans for Post Graduation was blurred.

Those Blurred lines became visible when I was scrolling the news feed of Instagram and came across some Luxury Brands like Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Taj Hotels , Ferrari etc. Those big names got stuck in my Brain. The moment I clicked on that link, I was asked to register for LCBS (Luxury Connect Business School). I feel fortunate to get connected with LCBS through Instagram.

People in LCBS know about customer services, they got connected with me in a couple of days and provided each and every information about the course. After a detailed conversation, I was asked to fill the entrance form which is the standard code of conduct of every college or school. 

The First Day of College, the warm and Pleasant morning got turned into hustle and bustle because I had to travel 24 metro stations . The struggle was fruitful as I reached the college on Time. Also, they had a code of Business Formals. The best part of the very first day is meeting new people and making new friends.

The first day was the introduction of the college faculty, subjects and the rules that should be followed in the college. We are thirteen students in this course, and we have students from each part of India. We have a diversity in the class because everyone is from different background of education.

The Second Day was the Industry visit, The Luxury industry is itself an ecosystem likewise the word Luxury had different meaning to each one of us. Luxury Industry has several sectors, the second Day of college was scheduled to visit Four sectors of luxury industry. We visited BMW under automobile sector, True Fitt &Hill under grooming sector, IREO (The Grand Hyatt Residences) under real estate and Roseate hotel under hospitality sector.

The purpose of making us visit the luxury industry was to look around how exactly your workstations might look like. This answers everything why I have chosen LCBS over other colleges. They have a motive of focusing towards the Practical over theory.

Third Day was continued with the induction , we had the best Panel from luxury industry. They had huge experience in the industry. We had interactive session with all the Panel members, they all had different meanings of luxury in their dictionary. The great Day came to the end with a beautiful advice “Work with Passion”. 

Globalised Evolution over the years with prestigious Brands

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. In a business module, working with different establishments on a joint venture has paved way for corporate advancement. Notable luxury brands and business schools have joined hands to elevate the training and knowledge of their employees to tackle the needs of the respective sections of the luxury industry. This remarkable step of fostering a practical approach towards luxury salesmanship is one of a kind, aimed to strengthen the very idea of understanding consumer behaviour and their needs.

A vocational joint venture for luxury expertise such as the collaboration of Elle, the leading fashion media brand with MIT Sloan School of Management (UK) for the course of Fashion & Luxury Management illustrates this emerging phenomenon. The program is designed to provide participants with exclusive insight and a global perspective of the fashion and luxury industry. During the course of the program, participants will have the opportunity to network with key leaders of the industry and apply the frameworks they are learning to real business challenges they face in their work. 

In the recent news, the luxury industry has witnessed the collaboration of renowned brand Gucci with the prestigious Polimoda Fashion School (Italy) for the course of Retail ManagementThe nine-month course, which launches in April 2018, will cover retail management,finance, merchandising and marketing and be taught, in part, by Gucci managers, who will guest lecture. The Italian fashion house, which is owned by the French conglomerate Kering, will also offer select graduates internships or job opportunities within the Kering network.

When we talk about the Indian luxury sector, it has been constantly evolving over the years with globalization. With growing incomes and the shift towards a cosmopolitan lifestyle, luxury brands are belting big to woo the Indian audiences.  Luxury Connect Business School has joined hands with India’s largest and the most premium duty-free retail store, Delhi Duty Free Services (DDFS) to educate and train their employees under a customized six months ‘Certificate Program in Luxury Retail Management’ (CPLRM). As tourism in India is increasing domestically and internationally, this is an ideal program that involves structured learning designed to operate and manage the Indian travel-retail sector. DDFS houses a plethora of luxury brands in its retail outlets, ranging from alcohol, fragrances, watches, jewellery, apparels and accessories. With the company seeing it’s highest sales in the year 2017, DDFS intends to enhance its customer experience with skilled professionals who understand the beauty, the superficiality and the appeasing factor of luxury goods & services as the current manpower is under qualified. With that intention, they fabricated this vocational course with India’s first and only Luxury B-school, that is LCBS, envisioned and founded by India’s very own luxury icon Mr. Abhay Gupta. 

We believe that by working together, we will continue to lay the foundation for a new generation of inclusive economic growth, expand opportunities for the working class and ensure that luxury oriented businesses have the support they need to thrive and grow in the years to come.