Luxe growth spurts niche management courses in India

With luxury companies setting up base in India and several

research reports predicting a growth in this segment, demand for executives with specialized management degrees in luxury is on the rise. Looking at the growth in career opportunities, leading business schools are now offering management courses in luxury brand management. Paris-based ESSEC and Milan-based SDA Bocconi are witnessing an increase in demand from markets like India.

And the trend, say analysts, will grow as luxury expands its scope in India. Looking at the potential, SDA Bocconi has started an Indian branch named MISB Bocconi in Mumbai to leverage its experience within Indian executives. Luxury, which covers a broad range of products and services such as fashion, food, arts, movies, cultural industry and hotels & tourism, is estimated to become a 15 billion dollars (Rs 81,363 crores) industry in India by 2015.

ESSEC business school was the first to launch an MBA in international luxury brand management in partnership with LVMH and L'Oreal Luxe. The aim was to recruit and train high-potential managers to develop their luxury business, particularly in Asia. The business school has assigned its top officials to frequently travel to Delhi and Mumbai to monitor the growth of the industry and interview prospective candidates.

Since 2009, the programme has seen its graduates being hired by Genesis Luxury, Reliance Brands, Burberry, Gucci, Remy Cointreau, Richemont and L'Oreal Luxe. However, some Indian graduates have preferred to gain international exposure before returning home and have gone to work for companies like DFS in Hong Kong or Chalhoub in Dubai.

At ESSEC, the MBA in international luxury brand management is a specialized programme that accommodates up to 40 students per year from 20 different nationalities. While there was only one Indian student in the programme in 2007, now there are seven.