MA in Luxury Brand Management

What you'll study

Core Modules

You will take the following core modules:

Module title Credits. Luxury Brands: Retail, Digital and Marketing Luxury Brands: Retail, Digital and Marketing 30 Credits

The module provides a thorough understanding of the unique practices associated with successful luxury brand management. The module investigates the essence of luxury brand management and explores the differences between the premium, fashion and luxury strategies. It explores the diversity of meanings associated with ‘luxury’ across different markets, as well as the impact of social networks and digital developments. It examines and rationalises the success of those business models that have achieved sustainability and profitability, highlights the management models that have been used to transform small family businesses into major brands. It examines the role of the intrapreneur as a form of corporate management style that integrates risk-taking and innovation, as well as the associated rewarding and motivational techniques. Understand the theoretical and practice based approaches to management in relation to market entry, brand re-position and brand maintenance.

In the contemporary luxury market companies have to be connected with customers in increasingly creative ways. This is a field of great flux as managers of mainstream brands are increasingly looking at entry into the premium level and managers of existing luxury brands try to tackle sections of the mass market. Thus luxury has to distinguish itself through distinctive approaches to retail, information technology and marketing. Luxury provides the opportunity to stay close to one’s customers and to provide the things that they want. Luxury has traditionally been seen in a tangible way, especially with regard to fashion goods, but a strong growth area has emerged in the experiential sector which includes tourism and hospitality, museums and art galleries, and the performing arts.

Luxury was once the preserve skilled artisans, often grouped in guilds, making goods to order for wealthy and aristocratic customers and patrons. Access to luxury has become more widespread with even governments (e.g. China) introducing policies extoling the importance of access to luxuries and estimating the salary levels at which people can enjoy becoming luxury consumers. Few people in the 21st century have access to one-off goods and experiences, but many luxury brand managers have explored ways of customizing goods and experiences to provide a sense of uniqueness for their customers, often using digital aided design that enables the customer to take part in the design process. Customization reinforces the notion that a tangible or intangible experience with a luxury brand creates a feeling of specialness.

The module examines the techniques and strategies used by luxury brand managers and developers to engage closely with their customers and to expand their customer base. The strategies involved not only the design of material goods and intangible products, but the creative use of digital media, retail and marketing to connect closely with customers. These management approaches will be illustrated with case studies from the established brands of the West, but also from emerging brands in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The module will also cover market entry strategies, as well as market re-positioning and brand refreshment and maintenance.

30 Credits. Luxury Brand Management Luxury Brand Management 15 Credits

This module provides a strategic perspective on the dynamic characteristics and opportunities associated with luxury brand management in a global context and examines the main forms of management in relation to the luxury goods and services industry. It introduces industry perspectives on luxury in relation to new venture creation and product development. There is a focus on the practicalities of management and an examination of the human resource management issues relevant to this sector. It discusses corporate social responsibility and environmental issues relating to luxury brand management. It covers the different approaches required in the management of branded luxury good and the provision of luxury experiences and their underlying rationales.

It shows how as small firms grew the need for specialist managers became imperative and a sub-field of management known as luxury brand management came into being. It describes how theory and practice drawn from different sectors became synthesized in the context of luxury brand management. It examines in particular the raid emergence of Japan as major consumer and developer of luxury brands and how its own distinctive practices in retail, notably the close relationship between customer and retailer, became influential.

The scholarly investigation of the diversity of luxury brand management has not just been a preserve of management studies and has taken on a distinctly multi-disciplinary character with contributions from sociologists, historians, economists, anthropologists and designers. An emerging field on inquiry is the growth of experiential luxury and the expansion of luxury management skills into new areas such as tourism and hospitality, museums and arts galleries, and theatres. The distinctive features of luxury bard management arose as from a combination of theory and practice and consideration is given to emerging future trends. It explores geographical and regional perspectives on the luxury sector or knowledge domain with reference to the development of luxury brands in Europe and to the use of luxuries in Asian and African court-based societies.

15 Credits. Intellectual Property, Trademarks and Brands Intellectual Property, Trademarks and Brands 15 credits

The module provides an understanding of the role of the luxury brand manager in relation to IP legislation and the contexts in which legal advice should be sought. It will introduce students to cotemporary theory and practice in policy making and industry by bringing in occasional speakers from ICCE’s networks in industry. The term intellectual property (IP) refers to intangible assets created by the intellect. IP is often afforded time-limit, legally monopoly protection. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) refer to the legal rights, including trade-marks, copyright, industrial design rights, patents and, in some cases, trade secrets, that grant the right to control the use of intellectual efforts. Intellectual property laws have been around for many centuries but it was not until the 1996 World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement that IP took centre stage. While the importance of IP legislation is recognised by the vast majority of countries, the level of enforcement of IP laws varies. There are many historical and contemporary examples of IP infringement.

IP has been a cornerstone of the world of luxury as brand managers have a key duty to see that the IP rights of their employers are enforced and respected. Luxury refers to a very broad area of trade which includes intangible products such as fashion goods and experiential luxuries such as gastronomy, tourism and the performing arts. Chefs, choreographers, designers and craftsmen alike have an interest in protecting their IP, and luxury brand managers need to be aware of the very different ways that IP applies across difference fields. The module also considers the role of the luxury brand manager in the ethical exploitation exploiting of IP and draws attention to the way IP legislation reflects values and value.

An increasingly import debate concerns the relationship between IP and high quality products whose rights are held collectively within a given culture, which is a pressing concerning in the emerging economies. Towards the end of the 20th century an increasingly common concern began to be expressed by the leaders and policy makers of emerging economies, notably in Asia and Africa, that Western fashion and luxury designers were exploiting the rich artistic registers of traditional cultures without any form of acknowledgement either in terms of attribution or payment. By the second decade of the 21st century the focus of this debate began to change as companies, particular from the increasingly powerful economies of Asa began to appropriate traditional African designs to produce copies of traditional Africa goods. This caused further ire as the industrially produced copies often undercut traditional producers inhibiting their attempts to develop traditional crafts into luxuries as had happened in diverse locations in the West.

15 credits. Dissertation Dissertation 60 Credits

The Dissertation is an extended piece of written work of 12,000 words, more or less 10%, on a research topic of your choice (but subject to approval). It is undertaken during the Spring and Summer terms with preparation and consultation in the Spring Term and research and writing up in the Summer Term. The dissertation comprises a critical review of the literature and/or original analysis of documentary and/or other evidence on a chosen topic within the fields of your programme.

The dissertation is intended to assess the full range of students’ abilities and to apply a range of learning outcomes, which the programme enables students to develop. In particular it enables assessment of the ability to design, develop and write an advanced research project using primary and/or secondary materials appropriate to the topic and according to the necessary conventions of scholarly work. It requires independent motivation and self-directed learning, under supervision, and enables students to demonstrate competence for critical analysis and sustained persuasive argument.

One of the main purposes of the dissertation is to enable the student to deepen his/her knowledge and understanding of the content and capabilities of the overall programme. The dissertation is written at the end of the programme and provides an opportunity to delve more deeply into a specific topic area and to synthesize knowledge acquired in previous studies. It provides the capability to use a holistic view critically, independently and creatively to investigate complex issues relating to luxury brand management. The dissertation provides the capability to critically and systematically integrate knowledge and to develop a knowledge of the research methods appropriate to his/her dissertation. The dissertation involved planning and use of adequate methods to conduct qualified tasks in given frameworks and to evaluate this work. The dissertation needs to present and discuss the conclusions as well as the knowledge and arguments that form the basis for these findings in written English. The citations and list of reference should conform to a consistent house-style (e.g. Harvard). The student must demonstrate am awareness of the ethical considerations related to research.

60 Credits.

Option Modules

Students can make up the remaining credits with the modules below:

Module title Credits. Consumer Behaviour Consumer Behaviour 15 credits

This lecture course will introduce you to the fundamentals of consumer psychology and behavioural economics.

It will give you an understanding for the fundamental decision making processes and the factors that influence these processes. It covers topics such as prospect theory and classical economics, brain structures and information processing, heuristics and rules of thumb, and framing and influencing techniques.

It also discloses the various strategies used by marketers to differentiate their products, leverage brands, set strategic prices, reduce the effectiveness of consumer search, and it compares the effectiveness of each.

The course covers topics such as the types and effectiveness of pricing strategies, individual differences in uptake of pricing strategies, value perceptions and subconscious influences (priming), and ethical and legal issues around influencing consumer choice.

The lectures in this course will be supplemented by several assignments designed to develop and enhance practical skills, and further develop familiarity with consumer psychological methods and theories.

15 credits. Psychology of Marketing and Advertising Psychology of Marketing and Advertising 15 credits

• The traditional view of marketing: targeting, differentiation, loyalty, buying behaviour
• How people buy and what they buy
• Emerging marketing views: physical and mental availability
• Packaging of products
• The future of marketing.
• Three ways of communicating information to consumers
• Advertising effectiveness
• Different types of media: online, TV, radio, print
• Communication strategies and cognitive psychology
15 credits. Marketing Strategy Marketing Strategy 15 credits

How do managers discover attractive market opportunities? How can they tackle these market opportunities by creating impactful marketing strategies, based on a powerful market positioning?

How is marketing strategising different in established versus new market arenas? This module introduces students to the state-of-the art in marketing strategy formulation.

Students will work with an entrepreneurial, London-based company to develop and implement a real-world marketing plan.

15 credits. Project Management Project Management 30 credits
• Find out about project management and its application to a range of project environments
• Critically evaluate project management theories as they relate to practical application
• Understand and act upon the role of the project manager in relation to project stakeholders
• Develop an understanding of appropriate project management methods, tools, and techniques, and their application for problem-solving and decision-making in project environments
30 credits. Tourism in Asia Tourism in Asia 30 credits

Recent research in Asia has questioned the widely held assumption that tourism arose in the UK during the mid-19th century as a result of Thomas Cook’s introduction of the ‘package’, a combination of the cost of travel and another service.

It has been shown that travel and leisure existed in early Han Dynasty China as scholars and priests explored mountainous areas giving rise to one of the civilizations most enduring art forms, the landscape painting. Travel and leisure also seem to have gone hand in hand with that other widespread phenomenon, the pilgrimage, with the attendant development of hostelries, storytelling and souvenir production.

Industrial forms of tourism were introduced to Asia by European colonial powers in the late 19th and early 20th century with the development of hilltop stations to provide relief for officials and merchants working in tropical areas. Grand hotels were introduced with the Sarkies brothers opening up famous establishments in Myanmar (Burma), Singapore and Indonesia (Dutch East Indies). The inter war cruise ship industry made Asia accessible to wealthy Europeans and Americans with perceptible impacts on Asian hospitality traditions and visual and performing arts.

Western artists used the opportunities provided by tourism to open studios in Asia, notably Bali, often working alongside indigenous artists to create hybrid and highly creative art forms. The post-war era opened up parts of Asia to Western mass tourism, notably the so-called ‘rest and recreation’ of the US military in Thailand.

Tourism was also used as a nation building strategy by Asian leaders such as Suharto in Indonesia to encourage his countrymen to travel and to get to know their country and to project a tourist friendly external image of stability.

As the Asian economies developed, countries like Japan became major sources of outbound tourism with accompanying impacts on Western retail practices, especially with regard to fashion and luxury. By 2014 China had become the largest outbound and inbound tourism market with the introduction of China-friendly hotel ranking systems in Europe, such as the 5-dragons scheme, began to be experimented with in Europe.

Indian outbound tourism also became significant with some novel characteristics, such as an interest in the hybrid Indian-British culinary tradition of the ‘curry house’. Tourism is also one of the drives that has spread Asian culinary traditions around the world.

30 credits. Cultural and Creative Tourism Cultural and Creative Tourism 30 credits

This module critically analyses the growth and character of cultural tourism and the growing relationship between the creative industries and cultural tourism. It critically interrogates notions of the creative class, the creative city and the experience economy which have been used to underpin strategies in cultural tourism development. Ideas about the growing sophistication of cultural tourists and their changing tastes suggest that travellers wish to move beyond consumption to ‘prosumption’. With increasing competition between tourism destinations, the development of timely, attractive and innovative tourism products has never been more necessary – whether using the historic environment in creative ways or exploiting contemporary cultural forms.

This module looks at the governance of cultural tourism at different spatial levels (from UNESCO to local government and local partnerships), best practice in destination management and the development of new tourism products. The geographic spread of cultural tourism and the greater diversity of products, necessitates the examination of issues related to contested meanings, authenticity, ethics, and sustainability.

This module comprises weekly lectures delivered by the module tutor and guest speakers followed by seminar sessions to develop, explore and apply the ideas developed in the lectures. Group and individual tasks will give student the opportunity to work with the key concepts developed in the module. The seminars will also be used to support students in the development of their own research. Fieldwork in week 5 will introduce the students to key cultural and creative tourism ideas in central London.

30 credits. Culture, Tourism and Regeneration Culture, Tourism and Regeneration 30 credits

This module explores the relationship between culture, tourism and regeneration. Tourism has long