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.
What: Luxury and Retail Club Speaker Series – Tetsuya O’ Hara, Patagonia
Topic: Sustainable Competitive Advantage
When: Oct. 26, 2011 from 12:30pm to 2pm
Where: Brinkley Commons, Miller Hall – 101 Ukrop Way, Williamsburg, VA 23185
Who can attend: All W&M students, faculty, and staff
Please RSVP if you plan on attending: https://forms.wm.edu/3269
Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I have been travelling since the 9th and have not been stable enough to write a good post. I will have some interesting stuff on the blog in the next few days.
Luxury Retail in The Big Apple (do people still call it that?) – I made a trip to New York to get a taste of the city and meet with one of luxury’s foremost leaders, Steve Sadove (CEO of Saks Incorporated). Keep refreshing your page in the coming days to get Steve’s perspective on leadership, reasons for Sak’s recent performance, and emerging trends in luxury retailing.
Patagonia: Using Business to Solve Environmental Problems – The Luxury and Retail Club at William and Mary is proud to host Patagonia on 10/26/11 at the Mason School of Business. Come back for more details on our club event featuring Tetsuya O’ Hara, Director of Advanced Research and Development at Patagonia.
Following the People: A Pictorial Journey of How Luxury Brands are Literally Following The Travelling Customer
Entrepreneurs, Longhorns and Barbecue in Austin, TX – After visiting New York, I took a fabulous trip with my MBA classmates enrolled in the Entrepreneurship program at William and Mary. We had such a great time meeting with venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and CEOs from one of the world’s most fertile regions for technology startups. Since that isn’t the focus of this blog you’ll have to follow me on twitter (@edmundamoye) or on the Mason School of Business blog to get the scoop.
I invite students at the W&M MBA program to contribute to this blog. You can write about anything that is related to any of the major segments of luxury and retail:
Article – Apple’s Steve Jobs Passes Away
I had to interrupt my Asia focus for this.
Many, if not all MBA students have come across Apple in their case studies or in their purchases. So, in honor of the late Steve Jobs, a man likened to Thomas Edison and Walt Disney, I’m posting this article from Luxury Daily. The article discusses the components of Apple’s successful strategy to enter every aspect of our lives.
I doubt any of our readers will wonder about the connection between Apple and luxury goods. I venture to say that the principles that led to Apple’s dominance apply to ALL luxury brands. I highly encourage my fellow MBAs to pay religious attention to the marketing components discussed in this article.
I’d love your comments (link below title) on how you think Steve Jobs’ death will affect the world.
Audi India posts 84 pc rise in September sales – The Economic Times
In my continuing focus on Asia, I’d like to bring attention to rising car sales in India. Audi just announced it increased sales in September. Though the numbers are not in the thousands, it does say something about the increasing demand for the upscale automotive experience in Asia.
For this week’s posts, I am going to focus on issues surrounding luxury goods in Asia. In some short paragraphs, I’ll introduce news topics surrounding the Asian market, where brands are pushing hard to establish a presence.
You have probably heard the phrase “imitation is the best form of flattery”. While that is true for many things, piracy in China bears huge costs for US firms – between $2.5 billion and $3.8 billion per year. In this article from Reuters, Emily Flitter discusses new developments in attempts by luxury brands to eliminate piracy.
Piracy and counterfeiting are huge “value leakers” for high-end brands, but in a strange twist of irony they can also serve to proliferate a brand (only at lower product prices and brand value).
In the MBA program we are exposed to the macroeconomic dynamics of purchasing power parity (PPP). PPP is a figure that tell us if a big mac is more expensive in Brazil, than in China. Well, luxury goods have their own metrics, tracking the price of a basket of luxury goods across world markets. While Forbes Magazine uses the Cost of Living Extremely Well Index, Julius Baer’s August 2011 Wealth Report: Asia brings a new indicator to the party of economic indices. According to the Swiss private banking firm, the the price of luxury goods is up 11.7% in dollar terms in the four big markets of Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Mumbai. What is even more important is that prices have risen far faster than generic inflation in these cities. Want to know where to get the best price on a Chanel bag? Click here.
BusinessWeek published the results of a survey from Stockholm-based research firm Universum. The company asks more than 160,000 business and engineering students in the biggest markets, from Brazil to China to the U.S., to identify what they regard as top employers. Guess which luxury brands were ranked.
LVMH
Headquarters: Paris
Employees: 83,542
Industry: Luxury Goods
2011 Rank (2010 Rank)
Business: 27 (39)
Engineering: NR (NR)
From Louis Vuitton to Tag Heuer to Moët & Chandon, LVMH (MC:FP) defines luxury across 60 brands, 2,500 stores, and more than 80,000 employees. The company offers training, talent development, and opportunities for internal mobility.
L’Oréal
Headquarters: Paris
Employees: 64,643
Industry: Cosmetics
2011 Rank (2010 Rank)
Business: 13 (11)
Engineering: 22 (29)
New employees at French cosmetics, beauty products, and perfume company L’Oréal (OR:FP) are tracked into the L’Oréal FIT program, a two-year, personalized program for starting a career at the company, which emphasizes development. Each year, 4,500 employees shift positions within L’Oréal, according to its website.
Top properties of the best employers include: flexible work options, great benefits, mentoring. To get more specific, check out The American MBA Survey from the same company. The MBA survey ranks the attractiveness of US employers amongst MBA students.
I am sure this post will attract some attention from my colleagues seeking positions in the financial services industry. Considering that luxury brands are making bold expansionary moves into Asia, I think there is an opportunity for MBAs of all disciplines to enter this industry, which is forecasted to grow 8% this year. According to Mckinsey, China’s luxury market is expected to grow 18% a year from 2010 to reach 20% of global sales in 2015.
At $12B, the Tiffany acquisition is one reserved only for a few luxury players such as LVMH and Richemont. I would venture to say that with the way news spreads in the industry, both groups may have already done their due diligence on the potential deal.
I just read an article in BusinessWeek that is very applicable to what I am learning at the Mason School of Business. In the wake of the recent financial woes, luxury goods manufacturers are facing a problem of rising commodity prices. Though luxury consumers have resumed their spending habits, there is a demand side component that is still causing the price of inputs like leather to go up. A worthy read for those interested in managerial economics.
The business segment constitutes a vital profit segment of the travel and hospitality industry. As you try to zoom in on a couple of companies to apply for internships and full time jobs, take a look at the 2010 Business Traveller Awards by Conde Nast. These are the top-rated hotels catering to business travelers. Click the picture for the full results.
Here is an interesting slideshow I found about how you can leverage digitized strategies for luxury brands. Enjoy…
The Financial Time recently concluded its 2011 Business of Luxury Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland. This year’s theme was “What Price Luxury”. If you’d like to catch up on issues being discussed by luxury leaders, take a look at the WSGN PDF reports below:
I am one who learns a lot from video and pictures. So if you would like to get the gist of the summit via video click here. Scroll down to the bottom for the videos. I hope they help you as they have me.
I’ll be posting links to other reports on specific segments of the luxury market. Subscribe to the blog or follow me on Twitter to get notices of new posts.
LVMH acquisition of Hermès not inevitable: experts
LVMH CEO, Bernard Arnault has been hoping to acquire Hermes for sometime now – years. Considering that Hermes recently got approval from a Parisian court to transfer its shares to a private holding company; what does this mean for LVMH’s progress in acquiring the family-owned saddler and leather goods manufacturer. It is possible Arnault may just stay put with his 21.4% of Hermes and get the benefits of owning some of the Hermes name.
Audi uses A6 campaign to highlight national driving issues
Audi is promoting its A6 through broadcast, print and digital channels. What is interesting is the approach of the campaign. Audi is highlighting its efforts at “Making the road a more intelligent place”. The brand’s ads address how the A6 provides solutions to drivers facing various road and driving conditions in the US. Did you know that “38 million drivers on the road today would not pass their state’s driver’s exam?”
For more, see the video from Luxury Daily below.
Article – Wealthy Online Shoppers Rank Top Luxury Retailer Websites…
In one of my former posts, I commented on the impact of online sales channels on traditional retailers. In another post, I commented on the great demographic divides that separate online users. Older consumers are more eager to use online and e-commerce portals, while it seems younger and up-and-coming customers are more willing to pay full price for luxury items.
The article cited at the top of this post is another datapoint that tells us which retailers may or may not be doing as well in cyberspace. In general, the article justifies the use of online retailing to supplement established brick-and-mortar store revenues.
Article: MediaPost Publications From Gen Y To Seniors, Luxury Fashion Spend Rises 09/16/2011.
I wish I could get my hands on this report. Seems like it would be a great read for those of us who will serve these customers in the future. It would be a great way to get an inside track on what business leaders are dealing with. As an MBA who is graduating in May 2012 (keep that in mind if you are looking for a great leader – i.e, ME), it will be my job to tap into the rich analytics developed by firms like AMEX and Mckinsey to create the new business models that help businesses innovate. Continue reading
Last April, I had the pleasure of attending a superb event at The Williamsburg Winery. Ferraris on the Vine brings the best in the auto world to Williamsburg. The 2011 theme was Ferrari vs. Ford. Look out for the 2012 edition.
Check out the website and my photos at http://ow.ly/6vVnX.
The interactions I had with auto connoisseurs and enthusiasts were incredible. The car pictured above is a 1958 Ferrari Ellena. I met the owner, and he told me a little about the car. Continue reading
Article – http://ow.ly/6vuwl
So LV will have a new CEO after current CEO, Yves Carcelle leaves at the end of 2012. This is a big deal for a brand that brings in a substantial amount of LVMH’s revenues. I wonder what made Arnault hire an executive from the dairy industry. He must bring some really important skills to the table. Continue reading
Article – Is Digital Killing the Luxury Brand? | Adweek.
One of my most inspring professors sent this article to me yesterday. The write up from AdWeek talks about how new online retail channels may not be delivering the same value as brick and mortar distribution. Continue reading
Article – Saks CEO Passes on Discount Rack – WSJ.com.
If you read my last post on Steve Sadove, this is a good article for you to find out what is going on in luxury retail. Click the article link above to read about what one high-end retailer is thinking.
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
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
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
Welcome to my blog. My name is Edmund Amoye and I am an MBA student at the Mason School of Business at The College of William and Mary. I describe myself as:
Husband; Entrepreneur-in-Waiting, Luxury Advocate; Business Development Specialist; Pricing and Analytics Strategist; Revenue Generator; Thinker; Doer; Self-starter; MBA student.
I am also the founder and president of the MBA Luxury and Retail Club at William and Mary.
It’s been a challenge getting this up and running just because I didn’t think I could do it. So a couple of months after reading a little about “how to start blogging“, I took the plunge.
I created this blog as a way to “get my thoughts and experiences out” and hopefully create some space to explore my various interest. The blog will also help me gain some practice in developing my social media portfolio, and control my external brand image. After all, no one can take greater interest in managing my personal brand than me.
I’ve always been a person who thinks and does many things at once. So you can think of this as my personal off-site storage closet – you put stuff there so you can acquire more stuff for your home. As the child of diplomats, I have traveled the world and been exposed to people from different cultures. As an MBA, that background has fed a burgeoning interest in the luxury/upscale categories of every product or service. From a business standpoint, I am passionate about brands that differentiate themselves within captive markets, especially by creating unique experiences for consumers. These are brands that derive strong advantages by competing in arenas other than just price. Price will always be a factor in the mind of the potential purchaser, but I strongly believe that price is not the single motivator of the kind of customer I want to attract and serve.
I don’t know what the blog will become, but in the next couple of months, I intend to pour my perspective, knowledge and passion into a business development career for highly visible upscale brands. I am a firm believer of “learning by practice”. I think people become great by practicing, making a lot of mistakes, and staying focused on their ultimate goals. As a reader, I hope you will join me on this journey of growth, discovery and fulfillment. Let me know what you think from time to time.
P.S. I’m a noob (newbie), so go easy…
Lessons in Luxury 