The MBA in Luxury Brand Management
Look good, do well – top brands are attracting top MBAs to help them take their value proposition to market
The MBA in Luxury Brand Management has become popular as the landscape of the luxury industry itself has changed over recent years. New brands are employing innovative marketing and promotional campaigns that challenge the position of established names.
Big brands are also innovating and exploring new markets beyond their traditional domains. At the same time, more and more people around the world are becoming interested in branded luxury goods.
This has also created greater demand for luxury products, and B-schools around the world are offering interested professionals the chance to be a part of this exciting industry through the MBA in international Luxury Brand Management.
The Luxury Brand Management industry
The hub of the industry, and the core for most new ideas and value-creation around new products, is Europe.
Activity in the industry, though, is obviously not limited to just Europe, as high-street luxury shopping avenues are found in major cities around the world – China (Shanghai / Beijing), UK (London), Italy (Rome / Milan), Russia (Moscow), Japan (Tokyo), U.S. (New York / Chicago / Beverly Hills), France (multiple cities including Paris), Czech Republic (Prague), Australia (Melbourne), Germany (Frankfurt), Canada (Toronto), and Singapore, to name just a few high-activity regions.
In fact, activity in Japan, China, U.S., and Russia surpasses that in Europe. The Luxury Brand Management industry itself has proven itself to be quite resilient, growing to a size of close to EUR 250 billion with double digit growth-rates over the last three years.
Emerging markets are the new frontiers for growth for the industry, and young aspiring managers should find plenty of exciting opportunities in Asia (China, Singapore, India) and Latin America (Brazil and Mexico).
Business Development, Communications, and Marketing are the top functional areas within which big brands are looking at MBA graduates.
List of top schools for the MBA in Luxury Brand Management
The MBA in Luxury Brand Management is a highly specialized program, and the list of schools considered top names for this program offering is significantly different from that of top B-schools in general.
Most of the schools offering the program are therefore European schools. The list of the top schools is as follows:
| Rank | B-school name | Country | Duration (months) |
Tuition fee | TOEFL, IELTS / Other requirements | GMAT/ Admission test |
| 1 | University of St Gallen | Switzerland | 18 | SFr 6,228 | TOEFL / IELTS | Evidence of accounting proficiency |
| 2 | ESCP Europe | France, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy | 18 | € 18190 | (Min. score)TOEFL – 100 IELTS – 7 |
Admission test |
| 3 | CEMS | 27 countries | 12 | € 6413 | Presentation, Case study, Group discussion Interview |
Pre-assessment test |
| 4 | HEC Paris | France | 18 | € 21096 | TOEFL / IELTS interview |
GMAT / GRE |
| 5 | Essec Business School | France | 18 | € 16375 | (Min. score)TOEFL – 90, IELTS – 6.5 3-6 months work ex. preferable |
GMAT |
| 6 | IE Business School | Spain | 10 | € 28200 | TOEFL / IELTS Interview |
GMAT / GRE |
| 7 | Esade Business School | Spain | 10 | € 19507 | TOEFL, IELTS Interview |
GMAT / GRE |
| 8 | Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University | Netherlands | 16 | € 2313 | TOEFL / IELTS Interview |
GMAT – 600 |
| 9 | EMLyon Business School | France | 18 | € 16678 | Interview | GMAT / GRE |
| 10 | Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad | India | 22 | Rs 976,000 | Interview Work ex. 2 yrs preferable |
(Min. score) GMAT – 700 |
| 11 | HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management | Germany | 21 | € 25000 | TOEFL / Interview 3 month work ex. |
GMAT / Admission test |
| 12 | Edhec Business School | France | 16 | € 16450 | (Min. score)TOEFL – 100 IELTS – 6.5 | (Min. score) GMAT – 640 / GRE |
| 13 | Grenoble Graduate School of Business | France, UK, Singapore, China | 21 | € 17183 | (Min. score) TOEFL – 94, IELTS – 6.5, Interview | Not required |
| 14 | Imperial College Business School | UK | 12 | £ 19,734 | (Min. score) TOEFL – 100, IELTS – 7 |
Not required |
| 15 | Mannheim Business School | Germany | 48 | € 416 | – | (Min. score) GMAT – 600 |
| 16 | London School of Economics and Political Science | UK | 12 | £ 20,281 | (Min. score)TOEFL – 107 IELTS – 7 |
GMAT / GRE |
| 17 | City University: Cass | UK | 12 | £ 18,000 | (Avg. score)TOEFL –107 IELTS – 7 |
(Min. score) GMAT – 600 |
| 18 | Stockholm School of Economics | Sweden | 22 | SKr 0 | (Min. score)TOEFL – 100 IELTS – 7 |
(Min. score) GMAT – 600 GRE – 600Q, 5.5V |
| 19 | Rouen Business School | France | 24 | € 12500 | Interview | GMAT |
| 20 | HEC Lausanne | Switzerland | 24 | SFr 2,320 | (Min. score)TOEFL – 89 IELTS – 6.5 – 7 |
Not required |
Top schools that focus on luxury management but do not offer an MBA in it
In addition, some top B-schools are also offering wide exposure to luxury and brand management through activities on campus and certification programs:
| School / University name (program name) | Duration (months) | Tuition fee | Application deadline (2013) | Work ex. required in years | TOEFL, IELTS, Selection Test | GMAT score |
| Columbia (MBA) | 24 | USD 58,384 | 10-Apr | – | Not mandatory | Avg. – 710 |
| ESSEC (MBA) | 11 | EUR 37,000 | 31-Mar | 3+ | Min. score: IELTS – 7, TOEFL – 100 | Minimum score – 600 |
| EBS (MA) | 16-Dec | EUR 18,700 | Rolling | 2+ | Min. score: IELTS 6.5, TOEFL – 90 | Not required |
| IFA (MBA) | 12 | EUR 14,800 | Rolling | 5 | Min. score: IELTS 6.5 / Selection test | Not required |
| LBSF (MSc.) | 24 | EUR 18,900 | Rolling | – | Min. score: IELTS – 6.5, TOEFL – 94 | Minimum score 550 |
| LBSF (MBA) | 24 | EUR 23, 750 | Rolling | 3+ | Min. score: IELTS - 6.5, TOEFL – 94 | Minimum score 550 |
| Monaco (MSc) | 12 | EUR 18,550 | 13-Apr | – | TOEFL, IELTS | Not required |
| NYU Stern (MBA) | 24 | USD 56,554 | – | Avg. of 5 years | Not mandatory | Avg. – 710 |
| Paris School of Business (MBA) | 12 | EUR 19,000 | Fall | – | TOEFL, IELTS | Not required |
| RMS (MBA) | 12 | EUR 14,000 | Rolling | – | TOEFL, IELTS | Not required |
| SDA Bocconi (Masters – MAFED) | 12 | EUR 27,000 | April 19, Jul 12 | 2+ years | TOEFL / Selection Test | Not required |
| SDA Bocconi (MBA) | 12 | EUR 44,500 | 30-Apr | 2+ years | TOEFL | Not required |
| SKEMA (MSc) | 12 | EUR 18,000 | 15-Apr | – | TOEFL, IELTS not mandatory | Not mandatory |
| University of Bologna – Alma Graduate School (MBA) | 12 | EUR 27,000 | Apr 30, July 1 | 2+ | Not required | Not required |
The luxury and premium brand management industry is growing and becoming larger each passing day.
As existing names continue to develop strategies to grow their client base further, newer names are aspiring for leadership position with new strategies and products.
The industry offers business managers plenty of opportunities for growth and learning, combined with unparalleled access to glamour that only this industry can provide.
This is informative, but do many Indians actually go for MBA in Luxury Brand Management? What is the scope for a job if one comes back to India?
Armaan, many Indians do go for the MBA in Luxury Brand Management. The scope for employment in the area has increased exponentially in India over the last decade, though of course it remains confined to the largest cities only. The biggest names in luxury and fashion today have offices in India and offer fantastic positions to MBA graduates.
Thanks! This was a really good article on the MBA in Luxury Management. Luxury Management is pretty niche, so it’s hard to find information on business programs for it. I’m actually interested in studying luxury management but not in Europe. I want to study in an emerging market like India. Are there any options I can look at there? Thank you very much.