Flashback on the Luxury week: an opportunity to network

Organized by the EDHEC Career Center, this edition of the Luxury Week was held from February 24 to 28 on the Lille Campus. Master 1 and 2 students were able to meet successively teams from the Porsche, Coty, Publicis Luxe, Richemont and CHANEL groups.

A TIGHT SCHEDULE

As the first company to participate, Porsche gave a conference organised around a presentation of the brand, several business testimonials, and a networking session. “It’s the first time we come to EDHEC, says Faycal Elasri, Head of Press and PR department of Porsche France. The students we met were very curious, eager to learn about the business and had an accurate vision of a firm’s ecosystem. When I started working at Porsche, I had an intern from EDHEC Business School. Marie was brilliant. She challenged us, was rigorous, showed good judgment. EDHEC’s student association life is very valuable and gets them ready for the job market. And that’s what we are looking for.”

The following day, the COTY Group, a major player in the global beauty market with brands such as Hugo Boss, Burberry, and Gucci, presented the opportunities currently available within its various brands. On Wednesday, the Publicis Luxe team met with our students and introduced them to the agency, its work, clients and business lines, followed by an interview and networking session. “My interviews do not follow a standard protocol. I prefer to have a transparent discussion, with no tricks. What I'm interested in is the candidate’s project and desires, trying to get away from the "business school" way of thinking. For example, I asked them to tell me about a personal anecdote to justify their motivation for the luxury category”, says Bruno Britsch, Managing Partner at Publicis Luxe. "More than looking for specific skills they don't have yet, we are looking for individuals with areas of interest, who will be happy and will grow with us. It is then up to us to match what the candidates expressed with potential internal opportunities.” Did the EDHEC students succeed in that task? “Although the format of the interview was surprising to them, I noticed their ability to listen first, then articulate what they're up for, sometimes without knowing that a specific expertise does exist at Publicis. They are candidates with potential and they project themselves into their future.” Through a conference led by Groupe Richemont employees, participants discovered the group, the opportunities and the different professions of the firm. A networking session was also organised, which was an opportunity to interact with teams from the group's different Houses (Cartier, Chloé, Van Cleef & Arpels, etc.). This Luxury Week ended with a presentation of la Maison CHANEL followed by several business testimonials and a networking cocktail in order to exchange on the different opportunities available.

AN IMPACTFUL WEEK FOR THE STUDENTS

This new edition offered once more a unique opportunity for EDHEC Business School students to meet professionals of the luxury sector, to exchange with them and to discover the numerous opportunities offered by the School’s partner companies. Xuedan Luo is one of them. Passionate about the fashion and the beauty industry, Xuedan, an MSc in Creative Business & Social Innovation student, is looking for an internship in Marketing, Communication or Media. “I really appreciated the programme of the Luxury Week as it gave us a deeper and wider perspective on companies or brands. I attended the presentations of LVMH (Givenchy/Celine) a week before the Luxury week and Coty during this event. They are all amazing brands. They provided us with a lot of useful information. These talks enabled us to learn more about workplace life and the daily missions for the positions we would like to hold. I also had the opportunity to have an interview with a manager at Coty.”