The new year saw a new beginning for the students of the January 2021 cohort of SP Jain School of Global Management’s Master in Global Luxury Goods & Services Management (MGLuxM) program as they took their first step into the global luxury industry. Here’s a peek at how they started this exciting journey:

Virtual Orientation Ceremony

The new MGLuxM cohort had their virtual orientation ceremony on January 27, 2021. The orientation began with a warm welcome from Smita Jain (Director – MGLuxM, SP Jain, Mumbai) and Prof Alessandro Brun (Director – MGLuxM, MIP Politecnico di Milano, Milan) followed by an e-meet & greet with the academic teams at both campuses.

Power Panel – Luxury in 2030

What role will luxury play in 2030 – a decade after the COVID-19 pandemic? After the orientation, students got the opportunity to participate in an engaging power panel to explore the answer to this question with top industry leaders like:

The session’s moderator, Prof Alessandro Brun, opened the discussion with the potent question of why humanity needs luxury. He believes that luxury isn’t superfluous but something that humanity needs as people cannot thrive only on physiological needs; they have aesthetical and comfort needs too.

Tarique Shaikh stepped in to highlight the importance of sustainability of a brand 10 years down the line, especially in the post-COVID era. Pancham Lillaney took the discussion forward and focused on how it is not only about the luxury product, but also the “complete experience a brand gives you”. She also spoke about the Gucci Equilibrium Campaign where the brand talks about sustainability and how their inclusive campaign focuses on people of all skin tones.

The panel highlighted how digitalisation has made everything universal and how people have begun to value and understand the concept of sustainability and making the right choice. Nirupa Bhatt emphasised on the term “sustainable luxury”. She cited examples from the wine industry and the diamond and pearl industries and stressed on these being excessively environmentally sensitive aspects and how the brands must think of not only their consumers but also their investors.

Raghavendra Sheshamurthy noted that brands like Dior and LVHM are already using technology to their advantage and highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the process of adoption of technology for other brands as well.

The penetration and integration of e-commerce in the world of luxury was another important topic covered in the webinar.

The insightful discussion led by the esteemed panellists came to an end with a quick Q&A session.