The course provides an overview of the fashion system and an in-depth understanding of the strategic, organizational and managerial characteristics of fashion and design-based companies, both in the high end and in the mass market. Brand Management in fashion and luxury industries is the art and the science of creating the ‘dream factor’: the aim is making people buy products not because they need them but because they desire them; in this way, companies may achieve both an increase of profitability and revenues in the short term and of brand equity in the long term. The methodology behind can be successfully transferred to other industries as well. From this perspective, the course aims at providing students the skills for managing key business processes in fashion and luxury companies in a context undergoing a radical evolution.
Prerequisites:
One basic course in Business Policy & Strategy or Marketing.
Attendance policy:
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Regular class attendance is mandatory. In an emergency necessitating an absence, the instructor must be notified, a medical certificate (from a doctor’s visit on the day you missed class)
must be submitted to and cleared by the IES Abroad Milano Center Academic Advisor, and all assignments due must be submitted prior to missed classes. There are no makeup exams - an on the scheduled day of an exam results in a grade of 0% for that exam. Flight and traveling plans will not be accepted as excused absences. Students are expected to attend lectures, to keep up with the readings on a weekly basis, and to work in groups on the assigned essay.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this course, students are able to:
• Recognize professional roles, such as business unit/brand manager, licensing manager, area manager, retail manager, merchandising manager and communication manager.
• Recognize key concepts of fashion, the fashion cycle, fashion and luxury;
• Distinguish the main landmarks in the development of fashion and luxury companies and how the greatest international designers, brands and countries (France, Italy, US, Asia) influenced the current global fashion system;
• Analyze the main business strategies and business models in fashion (luxury brands, fashion designers, premium brands, fast fashion retailers);
• Differentiate seasonal strategies at the level of product, distribution and communication;
• Distinguish the peculiarities of growth strategies in fashion and design-based companies with a specific focus on brand extension.
Method of presentation:
The learning process is facilitated through stimulating teaching methods, such as case histories, guest speakers and field projects that take advantage of Milan as a leading fashion center.
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: English
Required work and form of assessment:
active participation (10%); mid-term exam (20%);
project work (30%); final exam (40%).
Breakdown of Required Work:
Project Work: (3 people minimum, 4 people maximum). A precise briefing on group field project is provided during the course. Students work through a detailed observation of main fashion players, looking at brand positioning, shop image, merchandise, consumers, and defining possible actors who could integrate a brand extension. Students may consider brands that could go from fashion garments to accessories, jewelry and vice versa but also extend to licensing partnerships. Analysis could possibly lead to creative inputs and possibly ideas, as well as suggestion for new business models.
Final Exam: Consists of two or three essay questions related to topics covered in the second part of the program – i.e. the main drivers for fashion and luxury consumption; stylistic identity and product development; image identity and communication; retail identity and distribution and one question based on case history presented by guest speakers. Students will be required to be brief and to the point: one page maximum for each question. Quoting examples analyzed in class will be evaluated positively.
content:
Lecture 1
Erica Corbellini
Course introduction Defining fashion and luxury Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 1: 1.1; 1.2 (pages 3-10) Davis, Fashion, Culture, and Identity, The University of Chicago Press 1992.
Deliverables: Familiarize yourself with the course subject. Understand the difference between fashion and luxury.
Lecture 2
Erica Corbellini
Segmenting the fashion industry Description of fashion segments Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 6: 6.1; 6.2; 6.3 (pages 101-112)
Deliverables: Learn how to segment the fashion industry, identify the different clusters, key success factors and growth strategies.
Lecture 3
Erica Corbellini
Brand management in fashion
Branding as positioning
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 9: 9.1; 9.2 (pages 155-164) OPTIONAL: UchéOkonkwo, Luxury Fashion Branding, Palgrave MacMillan 2007
K. Roberts, Lovemarks, powerHouse book 2004.
Deliverables: Understand the difference between a trademark and a brand. Learn about the intrinsic and symbolic value of fashion brands. Understand how to create a strong brand equity.
Lecture 4
Donatella Zappieri
Brand extensions in fashion and luxury
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 14: 14.1-14.4 (pages 239-257) OPTIONAL: Kapferer, Bastien, The Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands, Hardcover 2009
Deliverables: Get aquatinted with brands that started with one product expertise and developed into additional product categories (analysis of marketing tools and communication).
Lecture 5
Donatella Zappieri
Evolving the business model from B2B to B2C: going to the fashion industry
The Swarovski case
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 7: 7.4 (pages 127-129) Deliverables: From crystal stone suppliers to crystal figurine producers and then to jewelry manufacturers. Key steps, learning, future developments.
Lecture 6
Erica Corbellini
Country models
French great couturiers and luxury conglomerates
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 3: 3.1; 3.2 - Chapter 7: 7.1; 7.3;
7.6 (pages 33-42; 121-123; 125-127; 132-136 )
Deliverables: Learn about the concept of country branding and how the business models of the greatest French designers have evolved from haute couture to luxury conglomerates.
Lecture 7
Donatella Zappieri
Guidelines for the group assignment
Slides provided by the Professor
No readings
Deliverables: Research, focus on a brand that might be applicable to a product extension. Study existing product assortment, carry out a competitive intelligence, define further the scope of the new product line. Write marketing plan and work on the creative outline of such a new product.
Lecture 8
Erica Corbellini
The Italian model: the fashion pipeline
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 1: 1.4 (pages 12-17)
Deliverables: Learn about the concept of the fashion pipeline and its importance for the Made in
Italy competitive advantage.
Lecture 9
Erica Corbellini
The Italian model: from designers to vertical integration
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 7: 7.2 (pages 123-125) Deliverables: Learn about the concept of country branding and how the business models of the greatest Italian designers have evolved from pure designers to vertically integrated companies.
Lecture 10
Erica Corbellini
The American model: lifestyle branding
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 3: 3.3 (pages 42-49)
Deliverables: Learn about the concept of country branding and how the business models of the greatest American designers have evolved from sportswear companies to licensing giants.
Lecture 11
Erica Corbellini
Mid-term exam
Radical designers
No readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Deliverables: Understand the difference between radicals and major brands. Discuss how to do business with radical design.
Lecture 12
Erica Corbellini
Global retail chains and fast fashion
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 7: 7.5 and Chapter 12: 12.1 (pages 129-132; 195-198)
OPTIONAL: Tungate, Mark, Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara, Kogan Page, 2008
Deliverables: Understand made-to-order and made-to-stock business logics in fashion and the reason for of the success of fast vertical retailers.
Lecture 13
Donatella Zappieri
Tutorship of the group assignment
No readings
Deliverables: Work closely with the students in order to see their project development;
coaching and advising.
Lecture 14
Erica Corbellini
Main drivers for fashion and luxury consumption
Luxury, uberluxury and masstige
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 6: 6.4; 6.5 (pages 112-120) OPTIONAL: Silverstein, Fiske, Trading up: the new American luxury, The Penguin Book 2003
Deliverables: Learn about new segmentation of luxury and mass market and its impact on consumer’s behaviors.
Lecture 15. Donatella Zappieri
Tutorship of the group assignment
No readings
Deliverables: Further review to prepare final presentation.
Lecture 16
Donatella Zappieri
Managing stylistic identity and product development
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 11: 11.1 – 11.4 (pages 171-184) Deliverables: Learn about what is a brand DNA and how to preserve it when it comes to design. Analyze seasonal collection architecture, timing, pipeline. Trends and timing to be right to market launch. How design impacts product development.
Lecture 17
Lectio Magistralis Fabio D’Angelantonio, Marketing Director Luxottica
Luxottica: Managing the fashion brands and the relations with designers
No readings
Deliverables: Learn from a best practice how to combine creativity with business.
Lecture 18
Erica Corbellini
Managing image identity and communication
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 13: 13.1 – 13.4 (pages 223-229) Deliverables: Learn how to build a successful communication identity in fashion and prepare a communication plan.
Lecture 19
Erica Corbellini
Event management in fashion and lifestyle industries
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 13: 13.5 – 13.6 (pages 229-238) OPTIONAL: JM Dru, Disruption, John Wiley & sons Inc 1996.
Deliverables: Learn about the planning and management of events in fashion.
Lecture 20
Donatella Zappieri
Managing retail identity and distribution
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 12: 12.4; 12.5 (pages 206-222)
Deliverables: Understand distribution and retailing processes. Selecting channels and formats.
Lecture 21
Donatella Zappieri
Group assignment class presentation
No readings
Deliverables: Each group will present its project. Open discussion and reviews by all participants.
Lecture 22
Erica Corbellini No readings Final Exam
Required readings:
Corbellini, Saviolo. Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies. Etas 2009.
Davis. Fashion, Culture, and Identity. The University of Chicago Press: 1992.
Recommended readings:
JM Dru. Disruption. John Wiley & Sons Inc: 1996.
Kapferer, Bastien. The Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands. 2009. UchéOkonkwo. Luxury Fashion Branding. Palgrave MacMillan: 2007.
K. Roberts. Lovemarks, PowerHouse book: 2004.
Silverstein, Fiske. Trading Up: The New American Luxury. Penguin Book: 2003.
Tungate, Mark. Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara. Kogan Page: 2008.
The course is strongly based on managerial practices rather than existing literature. Students are, therefore, encouraged to read daily news and reports about market trends companies’ strategy evolution.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Erica Corbellini is Professor of Management in Fashion and Luxury Companies at Bocconi University and
School of Management (SDA) where she is a member of the Faculty of the Master in Fashion, Experience
& Design Management (MAFED). She has taught at several International Business Schools such as Institut Français de la Mode (Paris), Middlesex University (London), Fudan University (Shanghai). Since 2009 she has been responsible for the Fashion & Design Platform at Bocconi School of Management, the leading program for research and executives education in the fashion and design-based sectors. Her areas of expertise include communication and brand management for luxury as well as fashion and premium brands. She is actively engaged in research and consulting projects for fashion companies.
Donatella Zappieri has a degree in languages (French and English) from Geneva University. For the past
20 years she has worked in the field of jewelry marketing and was brand manager, PR manager and design director for major brands such as Pomellato, Gianni Carità and Swarovski. Since January 2010 she has set up her own Company as art director and jewelry advisor, focusing on medium and high-end brands. She teaches design at Haute Ecole Art and Design in Geneva and regularly lectures at Domus Academy, IULM and SDA Bocconi.
The course provides an overview of the fashion system and an in-depth understanding of the strategic, organizational and managerial characteristics of fashion and design-based companies, both in the high end and in the mass market. Brand Management in fashion and luxury industries is the art and the science of creating the ‘dream factor’: the aim is making people buy products not because they need them but because they desire them; in this way, companies may achieve both an increase of profitability and revenues in the short term and of brand equity in the long term. The methodology behind can be successfully transferred to other industries as well. From this perspective, the course aims at providing students the skills for managing key business processes in fashion and luxury companies in a context undergoing a radical evolution.
One basic course in Business Policy & Strategy or Marketing.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Regular class attendance is mandatory. In an emergency necessitating an absence, the instructor must be notified, a medical certificate (from a doctor’s visit on the day you missed class)
must be submitted to and cleared by the IES Abroad Milano Center Academic Advisor, and all assignments due must be submitted prior to missed classes. There are no makeup exams - an on the scheduled day of an exam results in a grade of 0% for that exam. Flight and traveling plans will not be accepted as excused absences. Students are expected to attend lectures, to keep up with the readings on a weekly basis, and to work in groups on the assigned essay.
By the end of this course, students are able to:
• Recognize professional roles, such as business unit/brand manager, licensing manager, area manager, retail manager, merchandising manager and communication manager.
• Recognize key concepts of fashion, the fashion cycle, fashion and luxury;
• Distinguish the main landmarks in the development of fashion and luxury companies and how the greatest international designers, brands and countries (France, Italy, US, Asia) influenced the current global fashion system;
• Analyze the main business strategies and business models in fashion (luxury brands, fashion designers, premium brands, fast fashion retailers);
• Differentiate seasonal strategies at the level of product, distribution and communication;
• Distinguish the peculiarities of growth strategies in fashion and design-based companies with a specific focus on brand extension.
The learning process is facilitated through stimulating teaching methods, such as case histories, guest speakers and field projects that take advantage of Milan as a leading fashion center.
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: English
active participation (10%); mid-term exam (20%);
project work (30%); final exam (40%).
Breakdown of Required Work:
Project Work: (3 people minimum, 4 people maximum). A precise briefing on group field project is provided during the course. Students work through a detailed observation of main fashion players, looking at brand positioning, shop image, merchandise, consumers, and defining possible actors who could integrate a brand extension. Students may consider brands that could go from fashion garments to accessories, jewelry and vice versa but also extend to licensing partnerships. Analysis could possibly lead to creative inputs and possibly ideas, as well as suggestion for new business models.
Final Exam: Consists of two or three essay questions related to topics covered in the second part of the program – i.e. the main drivers for fashion and luxury consumption; stylistic identity and product development; image identity and communication; retail identity and distribution and one question based on case history presented by guest speakers. Students will be required to be brief and to the point: one page maximum for each question. Quoting examples analyzed in class will be evaluated positively.
Lecture 1
Erica Corbellini
Course introduction Defining fashion and luxury Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 1: 1.1; 1.2 (pages 3-10) Davis, Fashion, Culture, and Identity, The University of Chicago Press 1992.
Deliverables: Familiarize yourself with the course subject. Understand the difference between fashion and luxury.
Lecture 2
Erica Corbellini
Segmenting the fashion industry Description of fashion segments Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 6: 6.1; 6.2; 6.3 (pages 101-112)
Deliverables: Learn how to segment the fashion industry, identify the different clusters, key success factors and growth strategies.
Lecture 3
Erica Corbellini
Brand management in fashion
Branding as positioning
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 9: 9.1; 9.2 (pages 155-164) OPTIONAL: UchéOkonkwo, Luxury Fashion Branding, Palgrave MacMillan 2007
K. Roberts, Lovemarks, powerHouse book 2004.
Deliverables: Understand the difference between a trademark and a brand. Learn about the intrinsic and symbolic value of fashion brands. Understand how to create a strong brand equity.
Lecture 4
Donatella Zappieri
Brand extensions in fashion and luxury
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 14: 14.1-14.4 (pages 239-257) OPTIONAL: Kapferer, Bastien, The Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands, Hardcover 2009
Deliverables: Get aquatinted with brands that started with one product expertise and developed into additional product categories (analysis of marketing tools and communication).
Lecture 5
Donatella Zappieri
Evolving the business model from B2B to B2C: going to the fashion industry
The Swarovski case
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 7: 7.4 (pages 127-129) Deliverables: From crystal stone suppliers to crystal figurine producers and then to jewelry manufacturers. Key steps, learning, future developments.
Lecture 6
Erica Corbellini
Country models
French great couturiers and luxury conglomerates
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 3: 3.1; 3.2 - Chapter 7: 7.1; 7.3;
7.6 (pages 33-42; 121-123; 125-127; 132-136 )
Deliverables: Learn about the concept of country branding and how the business models of the greatest French designers have evolved from haute couture to luxury conglomerates.
Lecture 7
Donatella Zappieri
Guidelines for the group assignment
Slides provided by the Professor
No readings
Deliverables: Research, focus on a brand that might be applicable to a product extension. Study existing product assortment, carry out a competitive intelligence, define further the scope of the new product line. Write marketing plan and work on the creative outline of such a new product.
Lecture 8
Erica Corbellini
The Italian model: the fashion pipeline
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 1: 1.4 (pages 12-17)
Deliverables: Learn about the concept of the fashion pipeline and its importance for the Made in
Italy competitive advantage.
Lecture 9
Erica Corbellini
The Italian model: from designers to vertical integration
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 7: 7.2 (pages 123-125) Deliverables: Learn about the concept of country branding and how the business models of the greatest Italian designers have evolved from pure designers to vertically integrated companies.
Lecture 10
Erica Corbellini
The American model: lifestyle branding
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 3: 3.3 (pages 42-49)
Deliverables: Learn about the concept of country branding and how the business models of the greatest American designers have evolved from sportswear companies to licensing giants.
Lecture 11
Erica Corbellini
Mid-term exam
Radical designers
No readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Deliverables: Understand the difference between radicals and major brands. Discuss how to do business with radical design.
Lecture 12
Erica Corbellini
Global retail chains and fast fashion
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 7: 7.5 and Chapter 12: 12.1 (pages 129-132; 195-198)
OPTIONAL: Tungate, Mark, Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara, Kogan Page, 2008
Deliverables: Understand made-to-order and made-to-stock business logics in fashion and the reason for of the success of fast vertical retailers.
Lecture 13
Donatella Zappieri
Tutorship of the group assignment
No readings
Deliverables: Work closely with the students in order to see their project development;
coaching and advising.
Lecture 14
Erica Corbellini
Main drivers for fashion and luxury consumption
Luxury, uberluxury and masstige
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 6: 6.4; 6.5 (pages 112-120) OPTIONAL: Silverstein, Fiske, Trading up: the new American luxury, The Penguin Book 2003
Deliverables: Learn about new segmentation of luxury and mass market and its impact on consumer’s behaviors.
Lecture 15. Donatella Zappieri
Tutorship of the group assignment
No readings
Deliverables: Further review to prepare final presentation.
Lecture 16
Donatella Zappieri
Managing stylistic identity and product development
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 11: 11.1 – 11.4 (pages 171-184) Deliverables: Learn about what is a brand DNA and how to preserve it when it comes to design. Analyze seasonal collection architecture, timing, pipeline. Trends and timing to be right to market launch. How design impacts product development.
Lecture 17
Lectio Magistralis Fabio D’Angelantonio, Marketing Director Luxottica
Luxottica: Managing the fashion brands and the relations with designers
No readings
Deliverables: Learn from a best practice how to combine creativity with business.
Lecture 18
Erica Corbellini
Managing image identity and communication
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 13: 13.1 – 13.4 (pages 223-229) Deliverables: Learn how to build a successful communication identity in fashion and prepare a communication plan.
Lecture 19
Erica Corbellini
Event management in fashion and lifestyle industries
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 13: 13.5 – 13.6 (pages 229-238) OPTIONAL: JM Dru, Disruption, John Wiley & sons Inc 1996.
Deliverables: Learn about the planning and management of events in fashion.
Lecture 20
Donatella Zappieri
Managing retail identity and distribution
Readings
Slides provided by the Professor
Corbellini, Saviolo, Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies, Chapter 12: 12.4; 12.5 (pages 206-222)
Deliverables: Understand distribution and retailing processes. Selecting channels and formats.
Lecture 21
Donatella Zappieri
Group assignment class presentation
No readings
Deliverables: Each group will present its project. Open discussion and reviews by all participants.
Lecture 22
Erica Corbellini No readings Final Exam
Corbellini, Saviolo. Managing Fashion and Luxury Companies. Etas 2009.
Davis. Fashion, Culture, and Identity. The University of Chicago Press: 1992.
JM Dru. Disruption. John Wiley & Sons Inc: 1996.
Kapferer, Bastien. The Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands. 2009. UchéOkonkwo. Luxury Fashion Branding. Palgrave MacMillan: 2007.
K. Roberts. Lovemarks, PowerHouse book: 2004.
Silverstein, Fiske. Trading Up: The New American Luxury. Penguin Book: 2003.
Tungate, Mark. Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara. Kogan Page: 2008.
• www.businessoffashion.com
• www.fashionmagazine.it
• www.nytimes.com/pages/fashion/index.html
• www.pambianconews.com
• www.style.com
• www.wwd.com
The course is strongly based on managerial practices rather than existing literature. Students are, therefore, encouraged to read daily news and reports about market trends companies’ strategy evolution.
Erica Corbellini is Professor of Management in Fashion and Luxury Companies at Bocconi University and
School of Management (SDA) where she is a member of the Faculty of the Master in Fashion, Experience
& Design Management (MAFED). She has taught at several International Business Schools such as Institut Français de la Mode (Paris), Middlesex University (London), Fudan University (Shanghai). Since 2009 she has been responsible for the Fashion & Design Platform at Bocconi School of Management, the leading program for research and executives education in the fashion and design-based sectors. Her areas of expertise include communication and brand management for luxury as well as fashion and premium brands. She is actively engaged in research and consulting projects for fashion companies.
Donatella Zappieri has a degree in languages (French and English) from Geneva University. For the past
20 years she has worked in the field of jewelry marketing and was brand manager, PR manager and design director for major brands such as Pomellato, Gianni Carità and Swarovski. Since January 2010 she has set up her own Company as art director and jewelry advisor, focusing on medium and high-end brands. She teaches design at Haute Ecole Art and Design in Geneva and regularly lectures at Domus Academy, IULM and SDA Bocconi.