Hi came across luxury brand mngmt as a mba course it really interests me so I wished to know what kind of jobs does one get after pursuing such a course and is it only limited to US & european countries or they offer good jobs in india as well for this specialised course. Secondly I have 2yrs of work exp as a trainee in hrd in india I am looking forward to doing an mba next year , so I also wanted to know if my hr profile will be accepted for selection for this course in european universities .

Take a look at: http://www.find-mba.com/board/20578/last/#post-20637 and at the discussion board http://www.find-mba.com/boardsearch/q/luxury

if you want to work in India, then study in India. The wages are low in the luxury industry (ironically) and you'd find it hard to pay off a US or EU student loan on an Indian salary.

I just did a search for people with MBA or PGDM degrees in India who work in the luxury goods industry. The top schools are:
# University of Mumbai
# Delhi University
# Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies
# Amity Business School
# Indian Institute of Planning and Management
# Welingkar Institute of Management
# Symbiosis International University
# University of Pune
# Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya
# University of Rajasthan
# Kendriya Vidyalaya

Dear Duncan ,
Thanks for the reply , I thoroghly read the board. Well I totally agree on the low wages and high loans issue & I am comfortable working in India or abroad but I am a little worried as to during this time of recession will the asian students be offered good jobs in UK or US markets, secondly I wanted to know what kind of jobs are offered for luxury management course as I searched the job portals in India that shows scanty jobs opportunites that too majorly as store manager or sales executive jobs which I do not want to go for. Thirdly would my 2yrs work profile as a HR trainee enable me to get seleceted in good schools in uk or europe ? Please suggest

There aren't many well paid jobs for anyone in the luxury goods market. Wages are low there. You stand very little chance of finding a great job in the European luxury market without either a really high quality work background or a great MBA.

As you know, my observation is that there are very poor employment prospects from most luxury management courses. That's why there are so few of them. Managers in luxury have worked there way up. It's not like banking or consulting, were you need a lot of MBAs.

If the management opportunities are not there for you in luxury, perhaps you should consider looking for a HR role in the industry? Otherwise, look for the sorts of jobs that actually do exist in large numbers...

Ya, so do you suggest I should probably do an mba in marketing or Hr and do a masters degree in luxury brand mngmt or simply a good mba and look out for jobs in the industry. And should I focus myself into doing an mba from europe to get in a better chance to enter the luxury industry or US , UK would be equally good .

Well, I cannot recommend that anyone goes into luxury on business grounds. It's one of those areas, like the arts, where there's a big surplus of people and thus very little need to pay higher wages. It's the sort of industry that generally graduates who enter are not able to make a career in.

Very rarely you do find MBAs in the luxury goods and jewelry markets. When you do, they are generally graduates of strong, accredited, internationally known, schools. For example, in the UK, MBAs in the luxury market have typically studied at, in declining order:
# London Business School
# ESSEC Business School
# INSEAD
# The Open University
# Middlesex University
# University of Warwick - Warwick Business School
# Harvard Business School
# Columbia University - Columbia Business School
# IMD (International Institute for Management Development)
# HEC School of Management.

They are typically working as functional specialists, not as major business leaders. In declining order:
* Marketing
* Business development
* Sales
* Consultant
* Administrative
* Entrepreneur
* Finance
* Operations
* Buyer
* Creative

If you can get into a top luxury program, then you are not likely to get a great job in luxury -- but there is a chance. At a unaccredited school, I think it would not give you any real edge over an MSc:neither are very strong paths to a career.

Looking at the functional specialisations of MSc graduates in the UK luxury market, you see they are most commonly:
# Marketing
# Sales
# Administrative
# Entrepreneur
# Operations
# Finance
# Human resources
# Information technology
# Public relations

In terms of an MSc or MBA specialisation or concentration, therefore, one in marketing will be best: operations management and finance are next best. For you personally, with a HR background, HR is your easiest way in. However it is certainly not assured that you will find a role that will give you a high salary or a career path. There are few of those in luxury. Therefore I suggest you focus on a transferrable masters degree, rather than one focussed on luxury.

Hey thanks a lot for all your time , it was very helpful. I'll just keep my options open and not limit myself . Now I just have to decide which mba I should opt for marketing or HR and then I'll work my way through it .

Warm Reagards

Since you will be changing industry, and perhaps also country and function I suggest you looks for longer MBA programmes with internship options and in-company projects. On the list above, London and HEC stand out. The Essec programme is very strong for luxury.

Ya now I'll focus on good schools and opt for either full time mba in marketing or mba in hr .