BBS MEETS STROILI ORO
4 July 2023COMPANY PROJECT WORK – MASTER BUSINESS MANAGEMENT/RETAIL MANAGEMENT AND E-COMMERCE
How to extend market share abroad through e-commerce with a brand historically linked to traditional retail, with lots of stores and an average target audience over 30? This is the challenge given by Francesco Mura, Director of E-commerce Stroili – THOM Group, to the students of the Professional Master in Business Management, track Retail Management and e-commerce during the kick-off of the II Company Project Work for the current year.
The Company Project Works, an idea of Angelo Manaresi, Scientific Director of the Master’s program, and Barbara Lorenzini, marketing expert and professor, are curricular activities running alongside the lectures, designed to put students in direct contact with companies relating to the business sector they are interested in. A real case presented by executives from leading companies in the target market to work on, guided by the Master’s teachers, for four weeks becomes an opportunity to get into the company world, touch its modus operandi and directly meet recruiters and managers to expand their network.
For the Retail Management and e-commerce track, Caterina Carpentiere, Talent Acquisition, HR Manager and Francesco Mura, Director of E-commerce at Stroili, presented the project work related to their company on June 5 at Villa Guastavillani, Bologna Business School headquarters.
Stroili was founded in Amaro (Udine) by Sergio Stroili, who invented a brand with a very clear mission: to make the world of jewelry accessible to everyone. That’s how in 1996 he opened the first office, store and logistics hub of the new democratic luxury company. From there, for 20 years the brand expanded, opening many company-owned stores, before being absorbed in 2016 by THOM, a leading French group in Europe in the jewelry and costume jewelry market. In Italy, the company turns over 260 million euros, almost entirely derived from sales in its 400 stores, with more than 1,400 employees. It is the leading jewelry store by turnover. The stores are designed to be highly visible, with bright colors such as pink dominating the image.
An e-commerce has also been active for a few years, which the company now wants to grow. And, for this reason, Francesco Mura proposed this exciting challenge to the students of the Bologna Business School: how to penetrate new markets using e-commerce, starting, in-house, from a know-how focused on physical retail?
Stroili manages a complex product, ranging from 20 to 20000 euros in sales price, with very little pressure on promotions by choice (one does not want to set up a vicious cycle that lowers prices by generating non-loyal customers). It must be compared with competitors such as Pandora and Swarovski, but even more so with multi-brand channels. An analysis of EU and non-EU countries should be done, identifying priority markets, and evaluating their social and demographic characteristics, supply models and competitors present. Identify, then, the countries to follow, and try to understand on these what is the e-commerce penetration index, the number of returns, and the average user satisfaction. It is necessary, then, to consider macroeconomic aspects: GDP trends, and demographic structure, with main focus on Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe.
After that, the second part of the Project Work will turn to find an entry strategy to pursue to launch the brand and its sales portal in the selected countries.
A challenge for the students of Bologna Business School‘s Master in Business Management, Retail Management and e-commerce, who in the next four weeks will have to find the key to provide Stroili with a careful market analysis and concrete proposals on which countries to penetrate through its e-commerce portal, in order to expand its market share outside Italy. This is a unique opportunity to collaborate with a leading company, learn about its dynamics and be known by its recruiters.
The Master in Business Management combines face-to-face classes with Project Work and MGIncontri, appointments with executives from companies who illustrate their expertise to students, to provide an opportunity for contact with the business world in an innovative, practical and direct key. A path, offered by Bologna Business School, to immediately step into the business world.
