CONTENTS
Lists of boxes, figures and cases vii
Acknowledgments xii
Test: Is luxury the right industry for your talent? xiii
About the authors xiv
Introduction: the luxury industry’s talent challenges xv
Part 1: Understanding the fundamentals of the
luxury industry 1
Introduction 1
Two unique factors 2
The three business characteristics of the
luxury industry 22
The luxury brands’ conceptual framework 29
The three luxury organizational models 40
The four luxury corporate cultures 47
The four key populations to manage 54
Part 2: Portraits and jobs in luxury 59
Introduction 59
Executive talent 60
Creative/design talent 73
Manufacturing/workshop talent 89
Retail talent 102
Part 3: Case studies 113
Introduction 113
Case study 1: Robert Polet, a “modern gipsy at Gucci” 114
Case Study 2: A difficult succession plan in a family luxury business 118
Case Study 3: From marketing development to creation 123
Case study 4: The Dior case, a successful leadership duo example 126
Part 4: A luxury talent methodology 131
Introduction 131
The Luxury Competencies Model: A framework
to identify and replicate talent 135
Developing customer service 158
Cultivating creative/designer talent 177
Addressing the digital age 189
Part 5: Looking forward: luxury and China 201
The special characteristics of luxury in China 201
The key brand competencies the Chinese
need to acquire 203
Why hiring Asian executives is essential? 216
Conclusion: Principles for Luxury Change Management 238
Notes 243
Bibliography 249
Index 253
Lists of insights
Companies live and die – luxury brands survive 6
Designers are experts with complex sources
of inspiration 14
Financing the development of a luxury brand 28
The Luxury Brand Manager profile 68
Restructuring organizations – an executive challenge 70
The top 100 luxury board members in profile 72
The luxury creative profile: “keeper of the brand” 79
Organization chart of the design function at Bally 80
The ladies’ shoes collection calendar at Bally 81
The Hermès/Eurocopter helicopter 83
The Watch manufacturer model 93
The secrets and Savoir-Faire of a high
jewelry workshop 94
The story of the Kelly bag 98
How Charles Christofle built his brand around
manufacturing 100
The shop as a business unit 107
A retail career path example 108
How to lead Sales Experts or “Grands Vendeurs” 110
Luxury industry trend/moves and profiles 134
Are luxury leaders portable? 151
Why should luxury specific competencies be
developed in in-house Academies? 153
The Retail Academy of Richemont Group 223
List of case studies
The Tom Ford case study 20
Analyzing the Cartier “Odyssey” 35
Louis Vuitton and Takashi Murakami 37
Recruiting a General Manager for a Swiss
family business 145
Assessing the leadership style of a luxury executive board 148
Recruiting a Store Director 165
Engineering a retail career package 175
Recruiting a Design and Development Director 181
The Net-a-porter.com case study 192
The Tai Ping case 210
Listening to a successful duo: The Shang Xia case 226
List of figures
1.1 The genealogical tree of the Hermès
family ( simplified) 3
1.2 Creation dates of major luxury brands 4
1.2.a Origin of the graphic codes of some luxury brands 5
1.3 Who manages which brand? 7
1.4 The model of luxury family businesses 8
1.5 What strategic asset does the family bring to
the business? 9
1.6 The two designer profiles 14
1.7 The luxury leadership duo: a formula for success
and innovation 18
1.8 The respective roles of CEO and Creative Director 20
1.9 The luxury industry: major players 23
1.10 The three business characteristics of the
luxury industry 23
1.11 Capital expenditure as a % of sales 26
1.12 Marketing and communication expenses of
major luxury groups and brands as a % of sales 27
1.13 Gross margins of major luxury groups and brands 27
1.14 The economic model of luxury 31
1.15 The luxury brand conceptual framework 32
1.16 Building brand consistency 40
1.17 Identifying the different luxury
organizational models 41
1.18 The traditional French Craft Organizational Model 42
1.19 The Italian Flexible Network Organization 44
1.20 The American Flexible Network Organization 45
1.21 Third-party distribution management 46
1.22 The regional organization, mirror of the global
organization 47
1.23 The luxury corporate culture framework 48
1.24 The four distinct luxury corporate cultures 51
1.25 The two dominant luxury corporate cultures:
“ Tribal” versus “ Mercenary” 52
1.26 The other luxury corporate culture:
“Mechanist” versus “Holistic” 53
1.27 Luxury industry people challenges 54
1.28 The luxury brand’s purpose: the virtuous circle 55
1.29 The four key populations to manage 56
2.1 Country Manager job description 65
2.2 Marketing Development Manager job description 66
2.3 Director of Production job description 67
2.4 The Luxury Brand Manager profile 68
2.5 Organization chart of the new International Commercial Department 71
2.6 Collection Director job description 76
2.7 Senior Designer job description 77
2.8 Visual Merchandiser job description 78
2.9 The creative luxury profile 79
2.10 The organization chart of the design function at Bally 81
2.11 The ladies’ shoes collection calendar at Bally 82
2.12 The watch manufacturer model: a concentration of skills 93
2.13 The craftsmanship behind the Kelly bag 99
2.14 Store Director job description 104
2.15 Sales Staff job description 105
2.16 Sales Expert job description 106
2.17 The store responsibilities 107
2.18 Shu L – a retail career path example 109
3.1 The succession process in a family business 122
3.2 The new company organization 126
4.1 Exemplary leaders of the luxury industry – milestones 132
4.2 The Luxury Competencies Model framework 137
4.3 Luxury relevant knowledge 138
4.4 Performance competencies 139
4.5 Personal competencies 140
4.6 The five luxury leadership styles 141
4.7 How the five profiles are linked 144
4.8 Material provided by the consultant 147
4.9 Input provided by the consultant regarding leadership styles 150
4.10 Luxury leader abilities that will match another industry 152
4.11 The Luxury Talent House framework 157
4.12 New ways of thinking of retail talent 161
4.13 The new retail profiles 163
4.14 Input provided by the head hunter 166
4.15 The retail career tracks 168
4.16 The four career development stages in retail 169
4.17 The retail career development framework 170
4.18 Scenario 1: start and grow in the retail function 171
4.19 Scenario 2: moving away from the retail function 171
4.20 A fair retail compensation system: balancing three perspectives 173
4.21 The five components of the retail compensation package 174
4.22 Mapping of some components
Flexibility vs. Motivation 175
4.23 A retail career package engineering 176
4.24 Four designer profiles 180
4.25 Input provided by the consultant 183
4.26 Key principles for recruiting design talent 186
4.27 Tips for managing creatives 188
4.28 Online Luxury goods figures (in $US billions) 190
4.29 Cultural background of luxury brands and the digital world 191
4.30 The Net-a-Porter web strategy 194
4.31 The marketing digital organization: a focus on customer experience 195
4.32 The luxury organization chart including digital expert 196
5.1 The talent market in China 218
5.2 Attracting and retaining Chinese talent in luxury: a framework 222