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Why work in luxury?
What is the luxury sector?
Working in the luxury industry means offering high-end products and services to a clientele with high purchasing power . Luxury goods include textiles, accessories, perfumes, beauty products and services such as hotels and transportation.
What are the advantages of working in luxury?
The luxury and fashion sectors are growth sectors, they allow :
- Reaching higher salary levels;
- Work in a creative and innovative sector ;
- Joining companies with attractive working conditions: substantial profit-sharing bonuses, training budgets, frequent travel, large-scale professional projects, internal promotion, and an international scope.
Salaries in the luxury sector
The study formulated by Hays proposes a focus on the professions of retail, luxury and fashion. It mentions salaries between :
- 40,000 and 50,000 € gross/year for marketing manager positions;
- Between 42 000 € and 45 000 € gross/year as a communication officer;
- And between €70,000 and €90,000 gross/year as a marketing director, for profiles with 5 to 8 years of experience.
Working in luxury: top 10 luxury jobs that are recruiting
The luxury industry offers access to a variety of professions that deal with the entire value chain of products, from manufacturing to selling them to the customer.
Also, some professions recruit more and allow access to important salaries.
Training and experience in the luxury industry
The following education and experience are recommended for working in the luxury industry:
- A training of level BAC+3 to BAC+5 in school of business or fashion;
- The years of experience then determine the status and level of responsibility. In broad terms, “assistant” for internships and juniors, “manager” between 3 and 10 years of experience and “director” between 10 and 20 years of experience;
- A specialization according to the field of competence is always a plus, in marketing, communication, CSR, or digital, for example.
Brand manager luxe
Luxury brand manager or brand manager pilots and develops thebrand image of a luxury house: from the product range, to packaging, including POS (point of sale advertising), communication, without forgetting distribution.
Chef de produit luxe
A Product Manager is a commercial person who designs, manufactures and markets the products or services of a luxury brand. Depending on the company’s organization, this employee implements a marketing strategy to launch a product or service, with an adapted communication strategy.
Responsable de collection luxe
A luxury collection manager is in charge of coordinating the art studio, the workshops and the product or marketing managers.
This collaborator is responsible for the coherence of the artistic guidelines of the collections, while preserving the identity of the brand through time.
Responsable événementiel luxe
A luxury events manager is in charge of the brand’s events: fashion shows, cocktails, conferences, seminars, or dj sets. During these events, the brand or products can be showcased to an internal or external target, such as customers, journalists, influencers or suppliers.
Responsable marketing luxe
A luxury marketing manager is in charge of all the processes used to promote and sell the company’s products or services. This may include building a strategy for the development of new stores, new products or specific events related to them.
Acheteur mode luxe
A luxury fashion buyer sets up purchasing plans, selecting or producing products to show a collection.
This job is linked to future trends and innovations in the field of luxury in order to be as relevant as possible on the market of textiles, accessories or perfumes and beauty.
Acheteur mode
A fashion buyer selects products for his collections, it can be the purchase of fabrics, buttons, or complete or semi-complete pieces in textile and accessories. In addition to a forward-looking vision, the fashion buyer must have negotiating skills in order to guarantee a margin between what is purchased in raw materials and what will finally be sold to the customer.
Chef de ventes luxe
A luxury sales manager or a boutique manager in the luxury sector manages a commercial unit that offers products to a clientele with high purchasing power. The latter is often international and very demanding.
Manager réseau
A network manager is responsible for a brand’s network of sales outlets. He coordinates and pilots the development strategy of the boutiques in order to guarantee the best turnover for the brand.
Responsable des relations presse luxe
A luxury press relations manager helps to promote the company through relations with journalists, the media and influence. Depending on the size of the company, it is possible to work hand in hand with an agency specialized in this relationship with journalists. The main idea is to promote the brand’s new products in order to obtain articles, visibility and print and digital content through the media and social networks.
Visual merchandiser luxe
A visual merchandiser in the luxury goods industry is responsible for staging products in store windows or at points of sale. The visual merchandiser combines the creative demands of the art director, the creative line of the items on sale, the sales objectives, and the expectations of the customers of the point of sale concerned.
What studies should I do to work in the luxury industry?
The studies selected by the student help to orient the future profession, generally :
- For arts and crafts, luxury professions related to know-how such as watchmaking, couture or gemology, it is recommended to enter a technical and professional school such as the Gobelins or the Ecole de Condé;
- For creative and artistic direction, it is recommended to enroll in a school specializing in fashion and luxury, the best known being the Institut Français de la Mode;
- For functional jobs related to marketing, sales, communication, events or product development, it is advisable to follow a generalist or specialized training in a business or communication school. It seems essential to train and acquire knowledge in marketing, communication, sustainable development, CSR and digital. ESCE and SupdePub offer Bachelor’s degree (Bac+3) and MBA/Master’s degree (Bac+5) in Luxury Brand Management. These higher education courses in business school allow students to acquire the fundamentals of the luxury industry as well as a clear vision of the professional environment through internships and the possibility of work-study programs.
What are the tips for entering the world of luxury?
Working in the fashion and luxury sector means understanding how this environment works: what are the issues, development paths and priorities? Who are the actors, the prescribers or the customers? How to develop an innovative strategy, what are the budgets, the objectives?
Have or be willing to acquire know-how
In order to join a luxury company or house, the student must be trained in the profession, but also in the sector in which he or she wishes to evolve. Generalist training courses do not always allow you to know all the trades, so internships or work-study programs allow you to acquire the necessary skills.
Have a passion for a luxury house and know its codes
A passion for the sector seems important because the expectations of professionals are high. When a student joins a company in the luxury sector, he or she becomes a true brand ambassador, carrying the company’s values and embodying the image of the company.
It is then necessary for the student to find out about the house he or she wishes to join, to learn about its events or the actions of the sector and to participate in cultural events.
Use your network
Networking is an important part of the industry, both within competing firms, but also with the providers with whom the student will work throughout their career. To do this, a few tips:
- Join a school that offers the intervention of experienced professionals. Anchored in the professional world, they will be able to give you concrete advice. The student can also get in direct contact with them in order to establish a dialogue, ask them for an internship, ask them questions;
- Select internships in strategic houses with a high reputation as luxury companies, but also agencies;
- Participate in brand events, learn about current events, build a personal project;
- Take care of your relationships by capitalizing on the encounters you have made along the way. Keeping good relations, giving news about one’s current events, proposing meeting times around a coffee or a lunch are small actions on the long term which sometimes allow later on to fluidify certain professional actions;
- To make the network grow, to answer students’ requests, to help the community, to inform, keeping in mind that today’s student is tomorrow’s professional and potentially a future colleague.
Softskills in luxury
Hays mentions thatinterpersonal skills,listening skills and negotiating skills are important. However, it is imperative to master the company’s environment, in particular the market and the service or product expertise.
Speak the languages sought after in the luxury sector
The mastery of foreign languages seems essential:
- As the historical luxury houses are mainly French and Italian, the mastery of French andItalian is a strong asset;
- However,English remains the norm when working with international teams;
Prospectively, mastery of Chinese andliterary Arabic can be real advantages, especially if the future student wishes to go into sales. Indeed, the markets of the Asian continent and the United Arab Emirates are among the most developed.
LEARN MORE
- Why work in luxury marketing?
- Where to study luxury marketing?
- ESCE, international school of luxury marketing
- What is luxury marketing?
- How do I get into a luxury house?
- What are the professions in the luxury and fashion industries?
- Find our training tips in our FAQ