Completion of Conference Series

By Emily Albright, MBA in International Luxury Brand Management 2013-2014, USA

The end of the school year marks the end of the MBA Luxe conference series for 2013-2014! Since September, our class has had the opportunity to attend more than 30 conferences with alumni, industry experts, CEO’s and recruiters. We were able to meet and interact with professionals from the fashion and accessories, leather goods, cosmetics and fragrances, wines and spirits, jewelry and watches, and automotive sectors on topics ranging from alumni’s experience post-ESSEC to new trends and job outlooks within the industry. Brands that came to speak with us included Chanel, DFS, Dior, Richemont, Kering, Clarins, L'Oréal, Firmenich, Bottega Veneta, Cartier, Tiffany, Estée Lauder, Krug, and Pernod Ricard.

One of our final conferences was with the Executive Vice-President of Hermès, Mr. Guillaume de Seynes (who is also a sixth-generation member of the Hermès family). He discussed the strong artisanal heritage of the brand, the family’s concept of Hermès in general, taking the innovative approach of letting the product speak for itself in external communications, the benefits and challenges associated with maintaining a family-owned business, the origins and future outlook for Petite H, and Hermès’ exclusive and limited distribution structure.

Thank you to Mr. de Seynes for a wonderful conference to close out the school year, and thank you to all of the ESSEC Administration for making this series possible!