Luxury Brand Management

In the Lap of Luxury: A career in luxury brand management requires an understanding of heritage brands and the ability to network with niche market segments. A non-existent sector till just a few years ago, luxury brand management now offers exciting opportunities.
The price tag on a Jimmy Choo shoe is enough to make many eyes pop out and the cost of a Louis Vuitton gown enough to make people shake their heads in disbelief. Yet, if you are one of those who can see beyond the money associated with these iconic brands and find yourself even admiring their lineage, a career in luxury brand management may turn out to be rewarding.
Extravagant Entry: The growing number of Indians in the billionaire's club coupled with a conspicuous rise of the urban elite class has seen many international luxury giants queue up to woo the Indian customer. Pulling out all stops on luxury, a spectrum of premium merchandise and services ranging from designer dresses and handmade jewellery to watches and accessories, from custom cars and blue-blood clubs to premium vacation resorts and exotic real estate – is on offer for those who can afford to pay the price.
The need for individuals who can manage this upswing in the demand as well the clientele who generate it has led to the creation of new careers in luxury brand management.
Playing the Part: Luxury brand management can best be described as an interdisciplinary subject that applies time-tested management practices to businesses that offer premium services. The primary role of a luxury brand manager is to understand the heritage and history of the brand and to associate its values with a potential set of clients. This person is chiefly 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 favored choice amongst both - the masses in terms of desire and the elite in terms of purchase.
Sought-after Skills: A strong business management background coupled with functional experience in management practices is essential to the success of a luxury brand manager. Since luxury brand management involves a high level of customer interaction, those with a natural flair for networking, especially with the corporate class and the ability to build up a rapport with key decision makers, will do well for themselves in this industry.
Luxury houses possess zero tolerance for anything that is below average or of low quality. Therefore it is essential for an individual working in this field to set a high standard for maintaining quality, good customer relations and efficient time management skills.

Emerging Opportunities

Premium segments like: Custom cars, fashion, wines, chocolates, spa services, jewellery, leather accessories, watches, signature pens, etc have arrived on Indian shores and are in need of experienced brand managers.
With luxury brands spreading operations to newer countries, as a brand manager with a large luxury house, you can be the face of the brand in India or at a destination abroad, managing the company's operations and customer relations in that particular region. Thus a luxury brand manager also needs to constantly question and redefine the contours of luxury; keeping in mind changing times, perceptions and tastes of the region's public and also often provide design support to country-specific limited edition product lines.
In India, one can start off as an executive and move up the ranks to become in-charge of exclusive brand showrooms. With experience, one can expect to handle the brands' regional business expansion plans, organize prestigious events to market the brand, develop promotional campaigns and headhunt for a popular brand ambassador amongst other responsibilities. The more enterprising ones can even learn the tricks of the trade and go on to float their own companies in the future.
Luxury Pays: Trainee and executive brand managers start well at Rs 50, 000 a month and can look forward to sales perks like cash/ gift incentives, company paid travel, vacations, meals at five-star venues and networking with high profile individuals, all of which far outweigh the salary.
Academically: Currently there are only few options for studies of luxury brand management exist in India with the only direct course on offer being the Global Management Program for Executives in Luxury Management offered by IIM Ahmadabad in association with the ESSEC Business School Paris. Professionals with an upper executive level experience can attend this unique program that aims to provide in-depth training on the luxury business, its specificities, the implementation of strategies and the exciting opportunities in emerging markets such as India. Participants of the program will get trained at ESSEC Paris where they get to interact with faculty, alumni, touring international fashion houses and luxury business houses followed by intensive training at the IIM A campus.
Luxury brand management is offered as an undergraduate elective and as a PG specialization in a number of European colleges. If you are contemplating going abroad to study the subject, it would make sense to look at countries like UK, France and Italy which are home to some of the best names in luxury merchandise.