MasterCard emphasizes ‘luxury’ learning

Singapore - MasterCard Worldwide and ESSEC Business School have launched a new program aiming to provide professionals in the luxury retail and service industry with an understanding of current branding, management and consumer trends.

The MasterCard-ESSEC Luxury Brand Management Program comprises of 15 scholarships to a four-day intensive course run by ESSEC Business School and selected modules will also be available to students in the region at ESSEC's new Singapore campus and research centre. ESSEC is a French institution which offers the only luxury brand management MBA program.

"There is a real demand for executive-level talent in the Asia/Pacific luxury retail and services sectors. Affluent consumers represent a critical market segment - they set industry benchmarks in terms of product and service standards. We felt it was important to have a program that draws on our established and proven curriculum while providing a uniquely Asian perspective," Christian Koenig, director for ESSEC Singapore said.

The course will cover the key challenges and dynamics of the luxury industry, different models of luxury brand development and unique challenges in managing services for competitive advantage, and the Chinese luxury market will also be a special focus of the program. One out of the four days will be spent studying China's enormous growth potential and will incorporate an analysis of its luxury consumer market, the geographic distribution of its affluent consumers and the different regional characteristics.

"MasterCard Worldwide remains committed to staying at the heart of commerce, by contributing to education and research that is relevant to industry. With this latest MasterCard-ESSEC Luxury Brand Management Program, we are hoping to help high-end retailers and luxury service providers gain insight into the latest world luxury trends - giving them the skills to effectively reach out to their target markets," Georgette Tan, VP of Communications, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, for MasterCard Worldwide said.

Professionals currently employed in the luxury industry in Asia Pacific are eligible to apply, and applications close 30 June 2007.