How Master's in Luxury Management helps you develop strategic skills to manage luxury brands

The luxury sector is highly specialised with select players in fierce competition for a piece of the pie. With attractive salaries and a fast-moving career path, it is an attractive field for aspirants. The prospect of working with some of the most iconic brands in major business destinations in the world adds to its appeal. However, it also requires a holistic understanding of brand management, expertise in marketing with in-depth knowledge of the global luxury market.

For aspiring professionals, it’s important to understand the distinction between a Master’s or MBA in luxury management as opposed to a generic MBA. The field of luxury product management is highly specialised and demands a global outlook along with a nuanced understanding of the intersection between affluence, brands, tradition, and heritage. This highly competitive field requires candidates who can bring composite knowledge of the world’s top brands with the ability to think out-of-the-box to create demand for new products and services. A Master's degree in luxury management helps you develop the strategic skills necessary to manage global luxury brands.

Mastering communication in the global luxury market 

Unlike other products, luxury goods have an emotional aspect, banking on the consumer’s desires and ambitions. While these products are of the topmost quality, they also fall at a substantially higher price bracket when compared to the average product in the same category, and are hence, seen as aspirational. Consequently, communication plays a critical role in conveying this narrative and in reaching out to the right consumer segment.

Today, it also requires a multicultural perspective and the ability to work across different messaging platforms, including social media. With its dependence on strong communication, this field demands flair in creative and visual arts with specialisation in emerging technologies like digital communication. A specialised degree in luxury management equips aspirants to understand the nuances of communicating luxury products through various channels. It helps them in communicating the brand’s own unique story and its aspirational value in a relatable manner.

Understanding product placement 

Product placement is critical in the luxury industry. Successful positioning depends on the brand’s perception in a given market, its relationship with the consumer, the distribution  of high net worth individuals in a region, and their willingness to spend at the higher end. Recruiters are looking for candidates who are well versed in market research, analysing the target audience, working with different stakeholders, and the nuances of targeted branding. A luxury management program gives them the expertise to understand product placement, brand management and the strategic expertise of attracting and retaining customers.

Establishing in new markets 

With emerging markets continuing to drive the luxury markets1, candidates must be able to work in new territories. It requires the ability to adapt to new markets, understand its nuances, and the perception of luxury products in an emerging economy. Consequently, luxury management programs have a holistic approach that is aimed to provide students with a multicultural perspective that is critical in working in a new territory and different stakeholders, including different supply chains and retail partners.

Understanding symbolic value 

Luxury brands are based on a strong symbolic value that drives their entire branding and marketing strategy. This symbolic value is often derived from the brand’s or its founder’s history, its heritage, its cultural role, evolving perception in the market and its relationship with the targeted buyer. Very often a luxury brand will have products in different categories with some falling under the uber-luxury segment.

Understanding this history and its symbolic value is a critical aspect of luxury product marketing, influencing pricing, branding, communication, and consumer outreach. This also makes it necessary for the candidate to possess an in-depth knowledge of the luxury market’s history and its contemporary positioning. A luxury product management curriculum equips candidates with an understanding of the symbolic value of top brands, their importance as well as the tactics required to carve out a similar story for emerging businesses.

Creating exclusivity 

As aspirational products, luxury brands depend on the perception of exclusivity. With a significantly higher price tag, a buyer will buy these products because it provides exceptional value or prestige. This makes branding and narrative-building a very strong component of luxury marketing where the product must not only offer a high value but be also seen as a very high-value investment. Consequently, recruiters are looking for candidates who are trained in luxury product marketing with a strong grasp of the various strategies, theories, and tactics utilised in the field.

Luxury products are the cream of their field, positioned at the top in terms of both their perceived and monetary value. Be it cars, apparel, or electronics, these products are coveted and celebrated by the average buyer. Behind this, however, lies a dedicated and relentless marketing machine that creates and maintains this market value. With heavy competition for  each position, a specialised degree in luxury marketing is a critical requirement for aspiring candidates.

About the author

Smita Jain is the Director, Master in Global Luxury Goods & Services Management at SP Jain School of Global Management

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha