extension, and acquisition. Once again, it is essential for line
management to understand the attributes of their brand, its
values and market position, and operate while staying true to
the brand’s DNA.
Hercules: a cutting-edge example
The above mentioned changing needs for hybrid skill sets is a
reflection of many new dynamics in the luxury industry: the
digital revolution, globalisation, faster and improved customer
feedback, structural changes in the industry, new business
models, and more cross-relationship between governments. The
hydra that the industry has become has not destroyed the funda-
mental attributes and values that luxury holds, but has raised
more challenges for the luxury brand to cater with than ever
before: only a hybrid, two-brained and brand-sensitive work-
force can effectively deliver the Herculean response required.
Indeed, management style is also profoundly influenced
by the distinctive environment, social culture, and climate in
which an organisation operates. And given that the luxury
industry is ridden with paradoxes, managing people in this
industry is also a paradox. To survive and prosper in the
luxury environment, luxury brands should be seeking to
take on board managers who possess a combination of the
following attributes and backgrounds.
Difference: embrace it and understand it
There is, of course, no one-size-fits-all. Different houses,
brands, and conglomerates have different management styles
according to the personalities of their leaders and the internal
and external environment in which they operate. However,
luxury is a world of details that make a difference – to stretch
the butterfly metaphor further, ones that may separate the
luxurious Eighty Eight from the common Cabbage-white. To
be a manager in the luxury industry requires physical endur-
ance, good mood, good health, and good listening skills in
both the home and the international market contexts. Quite
apart from the usual hard skills attributes of a manager,
understanding is paramount to capturing the subtleties of
the luxury game, its details, and the specific language of the
luxury brand. In the end, the homoluxus should always know
that Luxury has been built on the foundation of certain prin-
ciples that can be neither ignored nor compromised. It is a
culture and a philosophy that requires understanding before
the adoption of business practices because its intricacies and
output are essentially different from other types of goods.
Embrace and understand it and the experience will be like
working on a butterfly’s wings: beautiful, creative, heady and
in constant regeneration.Keytakeaways- The business of luxury is no longer a local business. It is
global, digitalised, mobile and shaped by new, emerging
consumersfrombothdevelopedandemergingmarkets. - The industry seeks talents with specific and versatile skill
sets that are entirely new to luxury while enabling the
existingtalentpooltoadaptandchangewiththetimes. - The four main skilled job categories – craftsmen,
designers, sales forces, managers – use predominant left-
or right- brain thinking patterns and those who are adept
in smooth transition between both have undeniably an
addedadvantage. - While each function has to remain respected, new
industry challenges mean that luxury employees require
a high degree of awareness between creativity, quality
anddesirability. - Newcomers to the industry must demonstrate multi-cul-
tural skills that include cultural awareness and languages
while ensuring that the essence of the brand is not lost as
theindustrygoesglobal. - Typical challenges involve blending results while remaining
true to brand DNA and luxury attributes such as quality,
rareness, exclusivity, and temporality.
AbouttheAuthor
Ashok Som is Professor of Management
Department at ESSEC Business School.
Professor Som is one of the pioneering thought
leaders in designing organisations and an expert
in global strategy. At ESSEC, he is currently the
Co-Director of ESSEC-Bocconi Executive Masters in
Luxury (EMiLUX) Business. He was the Founding Associate
Dean of the full-time, one-year post experience Global MBA
program of ESSEC Group, the founder of the India Research
Centre and the founder Director of the Global Management
Programs on Luxury and Retail Management (in partnership
with Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad).The Future of Luxury