When one thinks of luxury brand management, the immediate connection is with fashion and hospitality. But luxury can also involve automobiles and travel. The focus of luxury brand management is to create unique and unforgettable experiences while delivering exceptional personal service and the profession has seen a significant growth in the last few decades.
High-end brands make strategic moves for promotion and branding and all of them have representatives to market luxury products to the public. Therefore, luxury brand managers have a critical role in corporate decisions.
Most colleges that provide luxury brand management offer Master’s programmes though there are a few Bachelor’s courses. The top-ranked ones are those that open a horizon for students to pick their preferred sector: real estate, automotive, wines and spirits, gems and jewellery, fashion, retail, or hospitality.
Skills and opportunities
Students who aspire to be luxury brand professionals need excellent soft skills and the ability to make other people comfortable. Apart from a passion for the industry, one needs to dynamic and people friendly. Not only does one need to know about the brand he/she represents but also be able to talk about its competitors, the latest trends in the industry and more.
A course in luxury brand management begins with the sector the student wants to specialise in and whether they want to join the sales and marketing team or take up positions in the back-end like operations, merchandising, and finance among others. Roles include Luxury Brand Manager, Product Manager, Creative Director, Digital Communications Director, PR Manager, Marketing Head, Luxury Exhibition Curator, Luxury Consultant, Visual Merchandiser, Business Development Manager, Retail Manager, Social Media Influencer and others. At entry level, the average salary is between ₹3.6 lakhs and ₹4.5 lakhs per annum. At senior positions, it could start at ₹6lakhs per annum and can go up to ₹40 lakhs per annum.
The writer is Executive Director at International School of Design (INSD).
