This course will examine the unique aspects of services management and marketing, with a particular focus on services in the luxury environment. The methodology used will be both theoretical and practical.
Underlying the approach of this course is the “service perspective”. According to this perspective, customers are not looking for goods or services, but rather for benefits or solutions to their problems. In other words, to be competitive, firms need to understand their selected customers’ total needs in order to design and deliver the core solution: the pertinent package of goods and services. But beyond that, the solution should also include other relevant billable, and non-billable services, such as invoicing, complaint handling, advice and personal attention, information, and other value-adding components. In this service perspective, the role of service components in building and maintaining customer relationships is fundamental and strategic, and sustainable competitive advantage can only be created by understanding and meeting every element of the individual customer relationship. Given the highly demanding and discriminating behavior and needs of the “luxury” buyer, effectively embracing and implementing the service perspective becomes even more imperative if a firm is to succeed in this highly competitive market.
This course will also examine, through various case studies and discussions, services as they relate to (as possible examples) the fields of hospitality, retail, wines, art, event management, and professional services.

Luxury retailing has changed significantly over past few years. A variety of trends have converged to create a situation in which retail strategies are arguably the dominant influence on luxury brand development. Nowadays most of the luxury companies must be able to professionally manage a mono-brand retail channel if they want to improve sales and more effectively communicate the brand image. Distribution is crucial in the luxury sector and retail marketing competencies are necessary to be successful in retail management. In the last decade, it has become increasingly harder to reach and influence consumers because they make most of their product purchase decisions in-store. As a result, retail marketing has emerged as a key element for marketing mix implementation and brand positioning control. For retail managers customer experience is also becoming a very important asset to develop. The luxury store is the place where the brand meets the customers and where the customers can live the brand experience. Luxury retail concerns concepts which continuously evolve along with luxury customer’s buying behavior. Retail managers have to implement long-term strategies and at the same time deal with competition issues on a day-to-day basis. Retail marketing activities are based on strategic plans and detailed operations and many decisions are taken with regard to product mix, visual merchandising, business analysis, sales processes, sales force management, in-store communication, and a host of other challenging aspects.

The objective of the course is to free mental resources and look for a fresh, new luxury model for mature markets. Using the learning from the current industry leaders, students will be able to mix the elements of the retail and distribution toolbox to obtain a relevant return on investment, knowing the rules for long term success and innovating at the same time. Critical customer observations will be coupled with traditional analytical tools, to achieve a new flexible vision, without the preconceptions of traditional luxury. Participants will be engaged in discussions and assignments on business analysis, retail KPIs, building and sustaining relationships in retailing, targeting customers, customer experience development. They will be required to research, articulate findings and build business plans to generate profit in the medium term and build the brand credentials for the long term.