Course 2017-2018 a.y.

Classes: 31 (I sem.)

Instructors:
Class 31: EMANUELA PRANDELLI

The goal of the course is to help you better understand the dynamics characterizing fashion and luxury markets and provide you the conceptual frameworks and the toolkits needed to manage at best managerial processes within these markets. The challenge is to contribute to design the future of tradition, recognizing the unique DNA of fashion and luxury companies, often rooted in long-lasting successful histories, and fueling it with the new tools made available by new managerial approaches, enhanced analytics, and new technologies. These skills are fundamental to face a new journey into a market where competition among industries is increasing, where customers are radically changing their approach to brands by mixing together mainstream and luxury products, as well as contemporary brands with long-lasting-icons, where geographic boundaries are fuzzier and fuzzier and global markets the fundamental landscape to profitably manage businesses.
In the "Management of Fashion and Luxury Companies" course, special attention is devoted to the following topics

• Demand analysis and competitive benchmarking.
  
• Market segmentation and target identification.
  
• Product and brand positioning.
  
• Innovation management and new product development.
• Integrated communication management.
  
• Digital strategies within fashion and luxury markets.
  
• Customer relationship management.

The course is conducted as a seminar focusing on discussions, student’s initiated topics and occasional lectures. Preparation for class discussion, active class participation, preparation of short assignments and initiated topics and questions are crucial ingredients of the course.

Specifically, the objectives of this course are to

• Provide participants with an understanding of the business and marketing challenges faced by firms in fashion and luxury industries.
• Equip participants with the conceptual frameworks and analytical tools required for planning and managing strategic decisions in a rapidly changing, omnichannel environment.

The pedagogical style is a hybrid of lectures, cases, and guest sessions. Several guest speakers from leading fashion and luxury brands will share their managerial experiences with participants in class. Selected company visits are also going to be planned. Participants are provided with practical tools needed to analyze specific problems and take decisions.

You are graded according to the following criteria

• 40% group assignment: you are required to work on a real business challenge. The output has to be distinguished by a clear thesis, it has to be well organized, and it has to employ solid analytical frameworks. Every written assignment is expected to be grammatically correct and without spelling errors. The expected output should be a power point presentation.
• 60% final exam: you are asked to take the final exam in the form of a multiple choice questionnaire, definition of concepts, application of theoretical models to examples, and/or short case discussion in writings. The Final Exam is held in class (closed books).

The overall individual grade however can receive an upgrade for outstanding class participation to case discussions and excellent task/project accomplishment.