http://www.europeanbusinessreview.com 65of about 110 brands (excluding cars, hotels, yachts
and other heavy-duty luxury products and services)
and the people working there traditionally move from
one brand to another. An “Up-or-out” syndrome has
been prevalent as employees had to continuously rein-
vent themselves, renew their creativity, be agile, and
perform. The local-to-global scenario is changing this
too. In order to thrive in the transformation of local
sales and local business model to global perspective
and initiatives, the industry needs talents with specific
and versatile skill sets that are entirely new to luxury
while enabling the existing talent pool to adapt and
change with the times. In short, the luxury brands
need to be run by skilled professionals who not only
understand the intricacies of the business but also
can operate on a global scale.
Brahma sees four
Luxury brand creations have seen phenom-
enal growth in their reach and sales over the last
twenty years thanks to wider marketing, organic
growth, greater presence in outlets and new luxury
consumer segments. Family-run businesses are
rivalled by the conglomerates such as LVMH and
Kering some of which – in order to cope with
the demand and to increase profitability – have
outsourced some of their activities to skilled labor
in various countries. However, luxury customers
still, above-all, crave “Made in France,” “Made
in Italy,” or “Swiss” watches. This raises the chal-
lenge of how to manage largescale growth and
scale up the production of goods, while keeping
the brand DNA intact and produce in a home
country where skilled workers are fewer and harder
to find. Indeed, it could be said that the scarcity of
these skills at home render them almost a luxury in
themselves. The challenge is fourfold in terms of
skillsetsrequiredalongthechainofluxury:- Craftsmen and women who possess tacit
knowledgeofthebrandDNA. - Designers who deeply understand this DNA
andwhocreateinnovationsaroundit. - Salespeople who translate the story of the brand
into unforgettable consumer experience to the
diverse and increasing numbers of consumers
acrossdifferentculturesandcontinents. - Managers able to run the business not as an
SME but as a global corporation.
By Janus, I think yes!
Looking closely at the four different types of
talent, each has a specific skill that calls into
optimal use their left or right brains effectively.
To go further, the left brain uses logic, focuses
on detail, facts, figures, complexity, acknowledges
reality and is oriented towards strategic, practical
and low-risk thinking patterns. On the other hand
(or head), the right brain is generally acknowl-
edged to think in terms of feelings, creativity
and imagination, with a preference for the bigger
picture, symbols and images and an appreciation
of spatial perception and knowledge while being
open to what ifs and risk-taking.
In the luxury industry, to a certain extent,
craftsmen have to be skilled in balancing the right-
and left-brain functions. The designer, however,
has to be more skilled in right-brain functions. As
for sales, people working within this function need
to be more focused on the left-brain while devel-
oping the competencies of the right-brain. Finally,
managers on the other hand need to be more skilled
in using the left brain while acknowledging the right.
It is a difficult balance for brands to ensure and
it becomes more challenging with the expansion and
growth of the industry. On the one hand, employee
willingness to learn and effectively use new skills is
an attractive trait at all levels of the organisation and
effective training schemes set up by brands can help
nurture and achieve this. But on the other hand, what
has become a global, digital-influenced and complex
industry desperately needs outside professionals fromLuxury brand
creations have seen
phenomenal growth
in their reach and
sales over the last
twenty years thanks
to wider marketing,
organic growth,
greater presence
in outlets and new
luxury consumer
segments.A Chanel boutique is
seen through a show
window in Seoul.
Photo: Bloomberg
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