Booming Luxury Industry paves way for Enchanting Careers!

‘LUXURY’ – the mere mention of the word draws in images of glamorous cars, fashionable models, well dressed and haughty taughty women, all ingredients of a high flying and fast-paced lifestyle! Traditionally restricted to the select few descendants of the erstwhile Raja’s and Maharaja’s, luxury consumption quickly became a purview of the new businessman; the educated well travelled professional and also the HENRY (high earning not yet rich) besides the YUMMY (young upwardly mobile) common man.

Too many product categories – too many brands – too many customers – average 20% steady growth in the sector for past several years. The new sunrise industry within consumer retail: ‘The Luxury Industry’. This booming industry opens up new avenues for young energetic enthusiasts to enjoy a career that is recession proof, needs easy to acquire skills and has a huge variety of segments to choose from or rotate within. Today luxury has seeped into every aspect of our lifestyles. Automobiles; fashion; travel; tourism; health and wellness; hospitality & fine dining; aviation; medical tourism; watches & jewellery; home & interiors; technology & hybrid – all are affected by the so-called luxury phenomenon. Further segmentation of the phenomenon has resulted in premium – accessible – aspiration – core luxury, thereby increasing the need gap in the talent pie.

So what are the typical career opportunities in the Luxury Space ?? What is a likely progression path that a young inductee could follow ??

Like any other consumer business, any luxury product has roles in the front end and the back end. Managerial roles typically could be in the fields of marketing; communications; logistics; merchandising; banking & finance; design; manufacturing etc. The front end roles which act as the customer touch point area’s would includes sales consultants; sales supervisors; store managers etc.

What are the personality traits that this industry looks for?

Working for a luxury brand requires a certain attitude. One has to be well educated, well behaved, always look good and have a passion for excellence. One needs to know and like the products one sells. Promoting them has to be something one enjoys. Advising someone on what to wear requires creativity and imagination. Besides, one needs to develop good inter-relational skills- one will spend your days interacting with people so one better inspire confidence.

Being a good listener and having a customer service awareness is the most important. Having a strong personality is also mandatory as one will be working for customers with strong personalities.

A brand wants people with ambition, determination & are career drive, besides loving their job. People with strong academic background are always preferred so do not neglect studies. Mastering two languages including English will always give you an edge. Most famous fashion brands are international & one may need to interact with people in other countries. Since Luxury brand management involves a high level of customer interaction, those with a natural flair for networking especially with the corporate class and the ability to build up a rapport with key decision makers will do well for themselves in this industry. Luxury houses posses zero tolerance for anything that is below average or of low quality. Thus it is essential for an individual working in this field to set a high standard of maintaining good quality customer relations and efficient time management skills.

It is essential for luxury brand managers to be in love with their product and believe that the company offers a value addition in terms of status and elegance to its client. A luxury brand manager who assumes the role of a mentor can spearhead the transformation of and merging luxury brand into a dominant market player.