Luxury Brand Management Scholarships Awarded to 15 Executives in Asia Pacific

MasterCard and ESSEC Business School have offered fifteen executives from Asia Pacific full scholarships to a four-day intensive course run by the prestigious ESSEC Business School, one of the world’s top business schools in international management education. The renowned French institution runs a luxury brand management MBA program, which has become a reference point for the global luxury industry.

The MasterCard-ESSEC Luxury Brand Management Executive Program aims to provide professionals in the luxury retail and service industry with an understanding of current branding, management and consumer trends. This unique curriculum had previously only been taught at ESSEC campus in France. Through the MasterCard-ESSEC Luxury Brand Management Executive Program, selected modules will be made available to students in Asia Pacific for the first time at ESSEC recently established Singapore campus and research center – The ESSEC Asian Center.

The 15 recipients of the inaugural scholarship program are industry professionals, practicing in markets such as China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines. 

"Asia is such a diverse and dynamic market that it is of critical importance for a manager dealing with luxury brands to constantly keep an eye on the socio-economic trends which allow an understanding of the evolution of our customer base in order to cater to their needs and aspirations. In this respect, attending a luxury course, such as the MasterCard-ESSEC Luxury Brand Management Executive Program, which is run by the most prestigious school in this field, with a specific focus on Asia, is a unique opportunity to increase our knowledge of Asia and fine tune our tools for a successful business," said Andrea Bonardi, Managing Director of La Perla Asia.

Sue Gan, Director of Marketing at InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong added, "The MasterCard-ESSEC Luxury Brand Management Executive Program is a premier executive program for this sector, especially since ESSEC has a robust unrivalled reputation for solid research. Attending this program will enhance my knowledge in a structured scholarly environment away from the pressures of the office. It will also afford me networking opportunities with likeminded individuals from Asia who each bring their own perspectives and experiences on luxury brand management to the forum."

ESSEC hopes the scholarship program will be a vital step towards developing the professional talent base in Asia’s booming luxury retail and services sector.

"The excellent response to the MasterCard-ESSEC Luxury Brand Management Executive Program shows it clearly answers a need of luxury brands to expose their staff to the culture of luxury and its unique challenges," said Christian Koenig, Director of ESSEC Asian Center in Singapore.

The scholarship program is part of the MasterCard commitment towards education and research. According to the latest MasterCard Worldwide Insights report from MasterCard, entitled “The Demand for Luxuries in Asia Pacific”, demand for luxury goods and services from older premium consumers in markets in Asia Pacific is expected to experience triple digit growth over the next decade. Together young premium consumers and the older premium consumers will account for approximately 83% of the US$258.7 billion spent on luxury goods and services by 2016.

Overall, the demand for luxury goods and services in Asia Pacific is estimated to grow an average of 12% per year between 2006 and 2016.

"Businesses have to understand the needs of their consumers to succeed. The older premium consumers have distinctively different needs compared to the younger set. For example, older premium customers want the luxury experience, while younger consumers tend to go for luxury goods. This scholarship program is a step in the right direction towards helping industry professionals gain insight into these consumer trends," said Georgette Tan, vice- president, Communications, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, MasterCard Worldwide

The group of 15 scholars will receive an intensive and hands-on learning experience over four days of lectures and training, beginning 28th September. The course will cover the key challenges and dynamics of the luxury industry, different models of luxury brand development and unique challenges in managing services for competitive advantage.

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