NYU MEETS BBS: A LUXURY DATE!
28 January 2022Creativity, digitalization, cultural and value codes, price acceleration, also specialization and managerial as well as personal sensitivity: are some of the key drivers that characterize the luxury industry. And that emerged during the virtual meeting on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, between the students in Design, Fashion, and Luxury Goods of the Global MBA of Bologna Business School and those of the Fashion & Luxury MBA of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.
Marcello Russo, Scientific Director of the BBS Global MBA, inaugurated this special event, then passed the floor to two key figures of the faculty of the track offered by Bologna Business School: Lelio Gavazza, Executive Vice President Sales & Retail in Bulgari LVMH Group, and Alberto Festa, Industry Leader of the track. Thanks to their many years of experience in the field of the most famous Italian and foreign luxury companies, both shared concrete and realistic reflections on what is happening within them today and the challenges they must face in order to continue to nurture the desirability and relevance of their products day after day. The goal, for all of them, is to keep pace with market changes and the changing needs of consumers. In fact, these are increasingly influenced by the shift in purchasing power that marks the time in which we live: today it is Gen Z, with its consumption habits and ideological aspirations, that interprets the typical luxury consumer who comes mainly from the Asian market. The new challenge that brands face is therefore the ability to build a bridge with this generation without compromising their identity heritage.
Gavazza talked about how Bulgari, despite the brand’s strong classical and traditionalist imprinting, is increasingly adopting digital solutions, such as avatars, to modernize the digital shopping experience while maintaining a balance with the unique feel of the brand.
From Festa, besides the rich professional testimony aimed at underlining the strategic keys that drive the luxury industry, also tactical advice for us students aimed at developing our professional careers: “be flexible in the initial phase, then specialize as much as you can because the market looks for and appreciates professionals with specialized skills”.
And on that same front, is the advice given by Thomaï Serdari, director of the Fashion & Luxury MBA at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. “Study the academic subjects with passion and seize all the opportunities that will come thanks in part to the school, then personalize them with your own contribution. Creativity is the key to the future you are building – it will set you apart by making you unique.”
NYU MEETS BBS: A LUXURY DATE! was an extraordinary opportunity for exchange and networking. Students of different nationalities, in two parts of the world far apart and with a 6-hour time difference, here together speaking the same language: the desire to become professionals in the luxury industry. It’s really true that passion, dedication, and commitment are citizens of the world, they know no limits but opportunities. And this meeting has been a great opportunity for mutual sharing.
