A large number of the best-known luxury brands concern clothing and accessories: ready-to-wear, haute couture, cosmetics and perfumes. The products offered by the major luxury brands are the result of the great know-how of specialized craftsmen, trained to the level of excellence that makes each brand famous: sewing, saddlery, design, choice and treatment of materials, the production side of luxury items calls upon the best talents, often after internships or apprenticeships.
Communications, marketing and advertising are the most important part of luxury companies. The quality of their products and services must be reflected in their brand image. The services and budgets dedicated to communication and image: from packaging, to publications, to events, belong to strategies specific to the luxury world. Advertising videos of cinematographic quality, hand-picked representation staff, choice of clothing, presence at major international events attended by customers (film festivals, fashion week, international art fairs, sales houses, design magazines, luxury hotels, etc.).
The sale of luxury products and services has its own codes and therefore requires specific and high quality training. The brand's standing is in its personnel, so the sales techniques, attitudes and presentation of employees who are in contact with customers are carefully examined. Product and sales managers are particularly knowledgeable about their customers.
General managers, administrative and financial managers, financial analysts, etc. who are not in contact with customers belong to the luxury sector and are therefore required to implement strategies specific to the sector. However, they are all different and depend on the development axis decided by each brand: ultra-selective niche market or democratization of luxury products, each company is master of its orientation. The selected collaborators come from excellent training, capable of conceiving and implementing the best strategic choices.
Some luxury houses train their own craftsmen in their own schools. The selection process is very difficult and sometimes lasts for a long period of training. The goal: to find the best elements. This is the case, for example, with Hermès and its school that trains very high level leather saddlers.
Business schools and Grandes Écoles de commerce are the preferred institutions for recruiting employees. The courses offered are indeed the most adapted to the world of luxury: business, marketing techniques, finance, marketing, general management. All of these fields, which are essential for a position of responsibility in the luxury sector, are taught in English, and quality schools give special emphasis to international experience, during a year or a semester of exchange abroad, or during an internship abroad. Corporate experience through internships or work-study programs also allows students to begin their immersion in luxury companies very early on and to acquire the appropriate professional culture. They allow students to access positions such as
University courses offer diplomas that allow you to enter the world of luxury: the BTS (Brevet de technicien supérieur) in commerce, or operational commercial management and the BUT (Bachelor of Technology) in marketing techniques, communication, as well as the general Masters and communication and management often offered at the IAE. There are also some very selective Masters such as the Masters in Innovation Design and Luxury in Marne la Vallée. The periods of internship alternated with the periods of teaching allow the students to be quickly operational.
Communication and advertising schools allow their graduates to target luxury companies or the field of luxury communication through different specialties and professions:
Some schools offer luxury specializations that allow students who want to work in this sector to learn about its specificities. By working on concrete examples and studying the major areas of the sector, graduates are prepared to enter the world of work within luxury brands.
The Paris School of Business, ranked 2nd best school in the field of luxury, offers students with a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Luxury Retail & Brand Management a work-study program. Students benefit from the school's networks and partner luxury companies in order to start their career in optimal conditions.
