As we returned from La Toussaint, our first long weekend in France, I was confident the entire luxury cohort was looking forward to the return of one class in particular that week- Global Economy with Professor Franck Asenkat. Part of a trio of courses with Professor Asenkat, Global Economy accelerates our knowledge of the business side of the luxury economy worldwide.
A look at the supply and demand of the luxury market
Covering all of the seven sectors that luxury encompasses and their respective market trends, the class provides an in depth look into the Supply side of economics by analyzing business best practices and strategies from product segmentation to compelling product development, created to make consumers dream as well as build long lasting margins. In parallel, to better understand the Demand side, we are given a thorough analysis of the typology of clients and targets through different lenses such as age, nationalities and wealth.
Current examples from the industry
Going far beyond applying the theories of economics in the luxury world, we discuss concrete cases from a panorama of companies across the sectors and how the theories have been applied. What sets this class apart from other courses is that Professor Asenkat shares hard data and trends from his discussions with luxury companies and industry experts. Hard data of the luxury economy is difficult to obtain since most companies are either large conglomerates that report only consolidated figures or privately held and do not publish numbers. Therefore, the behind-the-scenes look into company figures, operations and strategies has helped us analyze the ROI structure behind luxury companies as well as their exposure to risks and opportunities.
Though some of our cohort come from a luxury background, a majority of us are career switchers. Regardless, we all agree the class has strengthened our understanding of the business behind luxury as well as provided a context of how the industry has developed since the family owned businesses of the 80s to the global conglomerates of today. Having this context has prepared us well for our company visits and networking events, where we often establish our credibility through our knowledge of the Personal Luxury Goods Industry.
We are only three sessions into the 1st part, but we are already looking forward to the 2nd and 3rd parts of the trilogy- Brand Strategy and Brand Creation! If this course is any indication, the next few months will be just as accelerated to ensure we are well equipped to apply our learnings to our capstones projects come Spring, when we will tackle strategic challenges for partnered companies in the luxury industry.
No comments:
Post a Comment