Events/Conferences

Study, Reflect, Copy, Express….

It may he hard for anyone to reconcile the context and content of this post with the name of my blog, but sometimes you just have to go with the things that move you.

I’ve written before about my admiration for speeches and writings of certain figures in history. I may never know everything about the people I so admire, but the some of the things they say have had a profound effect on making me a better version of myself.

This speech by Oprah at the 2018 Golden Globes is no exception. It speaks to much of what’s happening in the current zeitgeist, but also addresses many issues we deal with on a personal level. It speaks volumes to me about leadership and speaking truth to power.

I hope it inspires you to be more.

Thanks go to NBC for posting this video to Youtube.

I Love The Business of Luxury Like A Fish Loves Water

So, the HBS Retail and Luxury Goods Conference is over and I’m wondering why I go to this conference every year.

Well, its simple.

The Dream Team (and yours truly) - Members of the LuxRe Club from The College of William and Mary at the HBS Retail and Luxury Goods Conference

The Dream Team (and yours truly) – Members of the LuxRe Club from The College of William and Mary at the HBS Retail and Luxury Goods Conference

I like to listen to the array of views on what’s going on in the luxury industry. I also enjoy meeting new minds, and reuniting with old friends. However, the real reason I go to the conference is simply because it makes me feel good. It fires up my creative neurons and allows me to think about things in different ways. The best way to describe it is that I feel comfortable – like a fish in water.

Reimagining the In-Store Experience: One of the panels at the HBS Retail and Luxury Goods Conference

Re-imagining the In-Store Experience: One of the panels at the HBS Retail and Luxury Goods Conference

Key Idea: Find those environments and business cultures that make you feel good about who you are. Find the people and places that excite your true passions. You won’t go far if you fail to be honest with yourself about who you are and what you believe in. Act like a luxury brand and stand for something.

My View: The main reason I joined the industry is because it stands for something that is important to me. Though there are opposing opinions out there, I believe that the luxury segment benefits a vast array of stakeholders in different geographic, cultural, and socio-economic segments – governments, companies, the environment, and of course, consumers. The industry doesn’t just provide beautiful products and valuable services for consumers – it also provides jobs and supports economic development.

BOLD Customer Experience Management, Blogging, @doubletree… I need more than 140 characters

I need more than just 140 characters

As soon as I tweeted it, I felt like I had to say more. Have you ever met someone, read a book, or watched a movie that contained ideas or dreams that you’ve always had? Thoughts that, prior to the encounter, you couldn’t concisely express?

I’ve been having those moments as I’ve been reading this book about companies that adopt a customer-first culture.

BoldThe book has been the breath of fresh air I needed to fill my lungs of passion for the customer. After going through some of my past posts, it dawned on me that I agreed with the authors (Shaun Smith and Andy Milligan) long before I received the book as a graduation present in 2012. Since starting the book, I have ordered four more copies for my friends across the US (and even in Japan). I think you should read it too.

Heck I might just send a free copy to the first person to send me a message via the comment box. 
 
Past Posts

As I was looking through my old posts, I felt so proud for having a point of view of my own, before being introduced to someone else’s. I couldn’t have begun to formulate my perspective if I hadn’t had a cathartic outlet like blogging. It never really mattered if I sounded stupid, smart, or experienced, I just wanted to put my thoughts out there. All that mattered was for me to develop my own point of view. Finding this book was such a proud moment for me because it lets me know that I’m not crazy. I’m just saying what I think. So its really important to blog.

If you need to develop a point of view on something that’s important to you, start putting your thoughts out there. Start a blog…. do something.

On to the next piece.

I’m in Boston, MA for the Retail and Luxury Goods Conference held by Harvard Business School. I’ve been coming since 2011 because its such a comfortable zone, being around luxury industry professionals. It’s especially relevant for me because of my personal mission in life and business:

Tweet

Whenever I come to the conference, I stay with the same hotel brand – DoubleTree by Hilton Worldwide. I have to say it is such a wonderful customer experience because I always get what I expect – the feeling of a home away from home. More to come sooner than you think.

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BRAND U – Template for a Luxury Resume

I’ve come across a few MBA students in the same place I was about a year ago. Many questions they ask center around creating a resume fit for the luxury sector.

Here’s a format used at ESSEC Business School. ESSEC is one of the most respected institutions, where the biggest firms in the luxury business recruit MBAs. It is particularly because it is one of the few MBA programs with a focus on the luxury segment. I’ll be writing about luxury education in a couple more posts. However, you don’t have to wait till then. This link will take you to the school’s 2012 Resume Look Book. Go to their website to learn more about the program.

I have also created a template for you to fill in (scroll to the bottom). It’s really a table. All you have to do is fill it in with the relevant info and hide the lines when you’re finished. Need further help with the template? Send me a comment.

I hope this helps.

Lux MBA Resume Template

JC Penney Going for Broke / Luxury Conference in Boston, MA

Ron Johnson’s Original Turnaround Plan for JCP – Circa April 2012

The Gist:

Less than a year ago, I wrote about JCP’s “square pricing” strategy created under CEO, Ron Johnson. The pricing strategy was intended to help the retailer grow its business, however, latest indications show the company has recorded four consecutive quarters of decline.

In combating the consumer backlash, Mr. Johnson is rolling out some of the previously discontinued sales that JCP is known for. There is no indication as to how many sale campaigns the retailer will bring back, but JCP’s CEO has vowed not to return to levels where the company ran up to 600 sales promotions each year. Supposedly, the retailer is going to introduce a limited number of promotions that tie in with the core habits of its consumer set – shoppers who only buy when they need something and require high value.

It’s bad enough that most of JCP’s consumers have decided to shop at its competitors (Kohl’s, Target, Dillard’s, and Macy’s to name a few). What’s worse is that Wall Street investors have also lost confidence in the stock. After losing more than half of its value, Penney stock is now trading at around $19. The company will also find it hard to raise capital as its credit rating is in the realm of “junk status”.

There is still no light at the end of the tunnel for Ron Johnson’s (RJ) turnaround. Though I was very pessimistic (and correct) in my initial assessment in April, 2012, I wouldn’t quit on RJ just yet. You do know he turned Apple and Target’s retail performance around, right? The past is the best predictor of the future. I just might roll the dice on some JCP stock.

Question

Where do you need to be this month?

Harvard Business School

Answer

In Boston, at the Retail and Luxury Goods Conference, at Harvard Business School. It happens every year (this is the ninth) and is never a dull event. I had some of my best professional moments there. If you can’t make it, you can trust that I’ll take notes for you.

Back to Blogging… with A Different Focus

First off, here’s wishing you a Happy 2013 ahead.

If you are reading this post, then I must either welcome you anew; or thank you for checking in on the blog.

When I created Lessons in Luxury, I had a goal of starting my post-MBA career in the luxury goods and services sector. Today, I have achieved that goal and have set even loftier ones for my career.

However, this blog has such a cool name that it must continue, even if it means that it will have a new focus. Rather than focusing on luxury from an academic perspective, I’ll discuss luxury as a career.

Look out for the first entry in 2013.

The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, VA

Today, I’m at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner (near DC) for an event organized by the Mason School of Business. What a great hotel. Trust me cause I know. I’ll tell you more about it later (with pictures). This is a brand that truly loves the ladies and gentlemen it serves.

Luxury, Retail, or Otherwise… Looks Count – Job Postings too.

Note: There’s a link to some jobs at the bottom of the post.

Last week, our Luxury and Retail Club had an event at the Mason School of Business. The event was titled “Looks Count – A Presentation on Professional Dress for Men and Women”. Here’s how we described the event: Continue reading →

#HBSRLGC – Day 2: Emerging Markets Panel

4/15/12 – After the keynote address from Max Azria, I went on to some of the panel sessions. The panel sessions are a little more intimate than the keynotes because you get to hear different perspectives on the same issues that concern retailers today. You’ll see competitors, collaborators, and disruptors in the same room. This year there were four panels and I attended two:

Emerging Markets – The panelists were:

  • Anya Ayoung Chee – Designer, Project Runway Winner
  • Kai Schoppen – CEO, Brandsclub Group
  • Malte Horeyseck – Co-Founder and Managing Director, Dafiti
  • Tikka Karpurthala – Chief Representative in Asia for Moet-Hennessy/Group Advisor Louis Vuitton, India

New Business Directions – The panelists were:

  • Anthony W. Campbell – EVP of Administration, Vice Chairman’s Office, Perry Ellis International
  • Julie Bull – Director of Investor Relations, Dillards
  • Mark Bonchek – SVP Communities and Networks, Sears Holdings
Here are the tweets to catch you up on what went on in the Emerging Markets panel.

Continue reading →

#HBSRLGC – Day 2: Max Azria

Two Crazy Guys - Max Azria (Founder, Designer, Chairman and CEO, BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP) and Edmund Amoye (LuxRe Club, Mason School of Business)

On day two (Sunday 4/15/12) at the Harvard Business School Retail and Luxury Goods Conference (HBSRLGC), we kicked off the day with breakfast, which was not attended by yours truly.

I was having too much fun walking around Boston... literally.

However, my day was off to a a memorable start with the second keynote address by Max Azria – Founder, Designer, Chairman and CEO, BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP. This is a man I have always admired for his perspective on fashion – and have respected for his vision with the Herve Leger brand. Meeting the man was something I wasn’t expecting and the HBSRLGC helped me do that. I tweeted so much at this conference that I’m just going to use my tweets document my experience. Enjoy. Continue reading →

HBSRLGC – Boston, MA: Day 1

So I was in Boston for the annual Harvard Business School Retail and Luxury Goods Conference (HBSRLGC). Yes, I know that’s a long acronym. I’ll document my days in Boston (4/14/12 to 4/15/12) with pictures and tweets (yes – tweets).

A Sculpture at Back Bay Station - by George Greennamyer, 1976

After coming out of the station I took this picture of the entrance to the Back Bay Station:

Right across the street from Back Bay Station is an iconic property – Copley Place. This was a good experience for me because just the day before I had the pleasure of conversing with Howard Elkus and Ken Himmel, famous architect and renowned developer respectively.

Copley Place consists of multiple connected buildings. Here is a picture of a pedestrian bridge over Stuart St.

NW Elevation of Copley Place

NW Entrance of Copley Place

Took the Orange Line from Back Bay to Downtown Crossing, transferred to the Red Line and went on to JFK/UMass where I stayed at the DT - Boston Bayside

Left the hotel and went to Harvard Square Station via the Red Line

Later in the evening around 6pm, I went on to the Sheraton Commander Hotel for a networking session and keynote address by Steven Kolb, CEO, The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). He set the conference off on a good tone discussing the role and history of the CFDA as well as its efforts to push intellectual property rights for designers in the US.



Visiting Boston for the 2012 Retail and Luxury Conference at Harvard Business School

Back Bay Station, Boston, MA - First stop off the train

Back Bay Station, Boston, MA – First stop off the train

So here I am in wonderful Boston for the Retail and Luxury Conference at HBS. It’s been a year since I’ve been back. I’ve had a wonderful time so far, traveling via the subway/rail system. I think I like it better than NYC’s subway system. Watch out for more posts (with pictures).

SEcon 2012 at W&M

In my last post, I mentioned a conference coming up in April, 2012. Well there’s one that’s just came to an end at the Mason School of Business at The College of William and Mary. The inaugural session of SEcon (Social Entrepreneurship Conference) has just concluded. What an amazing two-day experience being among leaders, innovators, and change agents with a passion for doing great good for business and society.

The conference hosted participants from across the globe, including:

  • Sheikh Hamad Bin Ali Bin Jassim Al-Thani – Vice-Chairman of the Qatar National Food Security Program.
  • John Bridgeland – President & CEO of Civic Enterprises
  • Jonathan Greenblatt – Special Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation at the Domestic Policy Council
  • Stanley S. Litow – IBM’s Vice President of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs and President of IBM’s Foundation
  • Mike Perlis – President and Chief Executive Officer of Forbes Media LLC
  • Ali Siddiqui – Principal shareholder of JS Group and board member of the Acumen Fund, a social enterprise fund
  • Wayne Silby – Founding Chair of Calvert Funds

There’s a complete list of participants here.

Social entrepreneurship is not a new idea that requires considerable thought or effort to understand. It occurs and develops in many different ways – with individuals, communities, companies, and even nations. After attending all the breakout sessions and listening to the various speakers, I think there’s a lot of opportunity for luxury brands that want to be more relevant to consumers.

The SEcon 2012 conference website will be up for a long time to come. I suggest you access the trove of videos and information generated by the event. I’m going to study all of the material to find those nuggets of wisdom that will help me in my luxe-focused career.

A Gathering of Luxury

One of the substantial influences that prompted me to start Lessons in Luxury was an industry conference I attended in April, 2011. The event was the Retail & Luxury Goods Conference hosted by the student-run Retail & Luxury Goods Club at Harvard Business School (HBS). Meeting business luminaries such as Tommy Hilfiger, William Lauder, and Stephen Sadove did a lot to help me develop my career ambitions.

This year, you can join me and my cohorts in the Luxury and Retail Club from The College of William and Mary, in Boston, MA. HBS will host the 2012 iteration of its annual conference from April 14, 2012 to April 15, 2012. For more information on registration, keynote speakers, and logistics, go to http://www.hbsrlgconference.com.

Previous speakers at the conference have included:

  • Stephen Sadove – Chairman and CEO, Saks Incorporated
  • William Lauder – Executive Chairman, The Estee Lauder Companies
  • Tommy Hilfiger – Principal Designer and Visionary of the Tommy Hilfiger Brand
  • Bernd Beetz – CEO, Coty Inc.
  • Terry J. Lundgren – CEO, Macy’s Inc.
  • Patrizio di Marco – CEO, Gucci

I look forward to seeing you there.

Christian Louboutin vs. YSL: A Battle of Trademarks

Today in my class on Customer Experience Management (the name makes it sound contrived but it’s a great class) we had some discussion on this article about the trademark battles between Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint Laurent (owned by PPR). If you would rather watch a video than read the backstory, here is a video.

From a business standpoint, it makes perfect sense for Louboutin to go after other manufacturers that could “cramp its style” – but does it honestly matter in the business of fashion where imitation is rampant and normal? Moreover, if Louboutin is successful, will it hinder the creative process that drives fashion? My answers are “no” and “yes” in that order, but I’d love to hear what some of our fashionista readers think. I’ll even give you the opportunity to write your own post on this topic if you have more than four lines of thoughts on the issue.  Continue reading →

Swatch: Creating a Shakeout in the Swiss Watch Industry

30-day Challenge – Day 24

A watchmaker at Edox, one of the Swiss companies challenging Swatch's decision to stop selling timepiece components.

For a company with revenues in excess of $6.5B, Swatch is considerably the worlds largest watchmaker. The Swiss company recently received approvals from the regulatory agencies to stop supplying competitors with the movements they use to make their timepieces. This is an ironic twist of events, because I am forced to ask myself, “why didn’t Swatch’s competitors invest in producing their own inner workings?”

Continue reading →

Hospitality Jobs Coming in Europe

30-day Challenge – Day 22

As my classmates and I get closer to graduation in May 2012, the anticipation of finding a job only increases. Today’s post will shed some light on where some luxury companies may be hiring – specifically hospitality.

Hilton Worldwide recently made an announcement of its intention to add more than 8500 new jobs in Europe by 2014. Check out the press release here.

The company is opening more than 110 hotels in Europe, via new builds and conversions. Key growth markets for the company include the UK, Russia, Turkey, Germany and Poland.

A range of award-winning training and development initiatives are also available at Hilton Worldwide such as the fast-track graduate programme, Elevator, which identifies and nurtures talented graduates and high potential candidates from within Hilton Worldwide. These rising stars go through a thorough 18 month training programme before assuming their first management position, and then are usually fast tracked to senior leadership positions, with the aim of developing into successful hotel general managers.

Fine Wines and Luxurious Accommodations in Virginia

Luxury and Retail Club members with Kristen Duffeler (5th from left)

Pictures

Last Friday (10/28/11) the Luxury and Retail Club (at The Mason School of Business) went on a company visit to The Williamsburg Winery and Wedmore Place located at 5800 Wessex Hundred, Williamsburg, VA. As a club, we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to sample wines from the largest winery in the state of Virginia; and see the luxurious accommodations at a European style hotel. We also found out more about the hospitality, and the wine & spirits business segments. Our itinerary for the day included: a tour of Wedmore Place with Kristen Duffeler (GM of Wedmore Place and In-house Counsel for The Williamsburg Winery); a tour of The Williamsburg Winery with Courtney Darden (Assistant VP of Marketing, The Williamsburg Winery); and a Q&A session with the Patrick Duffeler I (family patriarch and founder of The Williamsburg Winery and Wedmore Place) and Patrick Duffeler II (current President & COO of The Williamsburg Winery).

Continue reading →

“Patagonia @ W&M” was a Huge Success

You should have been there to hear Tetsuya O’ Hara speak about what Patagonia is doing to develop a sustainable competitive advantage. We will have pictures and videos out soon to show you all the exciting things that were discussed.

If you attended the event, please let us know what you thought in the comments section below.

2011 HBS Luxury and Retail Conference: Social Enteprise Panel


Edmund Amoye and Tetsuya O' Hara (Patagonia)

I attended the Social Enterprise panel at the HBS conference. The highlight of the panel for me was the opportunity to delve deeper into a case I had just completed at Mason. The panel was made up of very unique individuals from niche businesses. Continue reading →

2011 HBS Luxury and Retail Conference: E-Commerce Panel

From Evernote:

The “Innovations in E-Commerce” panel at the  HBS Luxury and Retail conference gave me some new things to things to think about. In particular how can we fully leverage the power of the internet for the good of the retail consumer? As you will see in the panel description below (or on the website), MBAs have a lot of opportunity to put their skills to work.

Today’s shopper spends more time than ever before behind a computer screen and over the past fifteen years, Retailers have invested substantial resources into cultivating their internet strategies. This panel will explore cutting-edge tactics and tools for creating the most compelling experiences in online Retail. Our panelists, ranging from digital media specialists to key Retail brand representatives, will also dig into the future of e-commerce and the startling online opportunities that await us. Continue reading →

2011 HBS Luxury and Retail Conference: Steve Sadove Address at Evening Mixer

Saks CEO, Steve Sadove and Edmund Amoye (LuxRe Club, Mason School of Business)

From Evernote:

On 4/10/11, I had the esteemed privilege of meeting Steve Sadove, the CEO of Saks Inc., after his keynote address at the Retail and Luxury Goods Conference at HBS. When you meet Steve Sadove, you literally get what you see – a down-to-earth professional who knows the business of retail. In meeting him, I got a sense of a very frank and collaborative company culture at Saks.

Below are some of my notes from his address. Continue reading →