Retail and digital transformation take center stage for 7th edition of EMiLUX

Now in its seventh edition, SDA Bocconi's Executive Master in Luxury Management (EMiLUX) is getting an update as it aligns with current trends in the luxury goods sector, famously a field that is constantly evolving. Gabriella Lojacono, EMiLUX Director and Professor of International Strategy and Luxury Management at SDA Bocconi, spoke about the major changes of this year's edition. 

Gabriella Lojacono, what is the added value of EMiLUX 2024? 

One of the most significant activities of this edition is the new project “Behind the scenes”, which will take place in Milan during the March 2024 module. Participants will take part in a shadowing program at the stores of prestigious luxury brands, such as Valentino, Tiffany, Bulgari, Cartier and Bottega Veneta. They will spend a whole day closely following the managers at the various stores and fully immersing themselves in the on-site activities. The full experience starts with the preliminary opening procedures and morning briefing and goes on until closing time. 

 

Where did this idea come from? 

Today, the life of the store is critical to understanding the company and connecting with the consumer. The store is the connection point for everything upstream, from merchandising plans to communication and collection plans. It is the Sales and Client Advisors who gather the information needed to profile customer preferences, behaviors, and interests and to contextualize the brand's offerings, adapting them to local specifics. Looking back at past editions of EMiLUX, we found that we always had a diverse classroom in terms of nationality and background, with several participants who had no prior experience in retail. So, we decided to fill this need in the best way possible by asking our brand partners to open the doors of their stores.  

So, there’s this new Retail track, but there’s also a new Hospitality track. 

Yes, because many personal luxury goods brands are openly inspired by hospitality, a context that by nature has very high standards for customer service and customer experience. EMiLUX participants who choose the Hospitality track will have the opportunity to experience a day of operations at a 5-star hotel from leading brands such as Dorchester and Manadarin Oriental.  

The March module will also have many exceptional guests. 

During the week in March, we will have Leo Rongone, CEO of Bottega Veneta, in the classroom, followed by Prada, Cartier, Loro Piana and Bottega Veneta to launch a brief for a challenge for EMiLUX participants that will take place in the following months. We will also have Cyrille Vigneron, CEO of Cartier, who will share his thoughts on the future of the luxury market, and Rodolphe Ratzel, Managing Director of Cartier, who will talk about the commitment of a French Maison in Italy and the importance of the Italian market for the brand. 

Another new feature this year is the introduction of sustainability and digital transformation. 

These two topics are becoming increasingly important to the world of luxury. During the Milan and London modules, we will talk in depth about sustainability, also thanks to the collaboration of Prada, which will brief participants on a challenge on the topic. For digital transformation, we have decided to introduce a new module that is exclusively dedicated to this topic.  

Which will take place where technological innovation originated.  

We are taking our classroom to California's Silicon Valley for two days of visits to the headquarters of large American companies such as Meta, Google, Sales Force and more. Thanks to the new partnership signed by SDA Bocconi, EMiLUX participants will have the unique opportunity to attend three days of lectures in the classrooms of the prestigious UCLA Anderson School of Management on the hottest topics of the moment: Digital Transformation, Platform Strategies, Customer Experience and Artificial Intelligence for the Luxury Sector.  

It’s a truly enriching and stimulating experience for participants. 

California was not a random choice. We want our students to have the opportunity to connect with the U.S. market. We talk all the time about Asia, Korea, China, Japan, growing markets even if they have slowed down recently, but let's remember that the world's largest market for luxury continues to be the United States. The U.S. market is demanding, with much higher expectations than we might imagine, and it is imperative that we experience it up close.