Leaders in Luxury - Middle East

A Luxury Society, uma rede social virtual especializada em Luxo, e a que Estação Cronográfica pertence, organiza de 2 a 5 de Novembro no Dubai um grande encontro internacional, onde alguns dos maiores especialistas do sector serão oradores:

-Patrick Chalhoub, CEO, Chalhoub Group
-Jean-Claude Biver, CEO, Hublot
-Joseph Wan, CEO, Harvey Nichols
-Eva Jeanbart-Lorenzotti, CEO, VIVRE
-Marc Lelandais, President & CEO, Lancel
-Christian Blanckaert, President, Petit Bateau, antigo Executive Vice President, Hermes International
-Stanislas de Quercize, President & CEO, Van Cleef & Arpels
-Philippe Charriol, President & CEO, Philippe Charriol Group
-Guillaume Brochard, CEO & Founder, Qeelin
-Carmine Rotondaro, Worldwide Real Estate Director, Gucci Group
-Concetta Lanciaux, Strategic Luxury Goods Advisor, Senior Advisor to the Chairman, Groupe Arnault
-Didier Picard, Vice President/ General Manager, Estee Lauder Middle East & India
-Joe Nahhas, Regional Director, Montblanc
-Tony Ward, Fashion Designer, Tony Ward Couture
-Sonya De Castelbajac, Regional Director, Yves Saint Laurent Beauty Middle East
-Deborah Najar Jossa, VP Operations, De Beers Diamond Jewellers
-Hamad Malik, Director Marketing & Corporate Communications, Middle East & Africa Operations, LG Electronics
-Denis Morisset, Executive Director, ESSEC MBA in International Luxury Brand Management
-Werner Dirks, General Manager South Europe and Middle East, La Prairie Group
-Coralie Charriol Paul, Vice President, Philippe Charriol Group
-Mehul Choksi, Chairman and Managing Director, Gitanjali Group
-Victoria Bracewell Lewis, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research
-Dev Suj, Managing Director, Brandista
-Marc Abadie, Middle East Regional Director, Harry Winston
-Nupur Tron, Director, Nupur
-Werner Pichler, Director Sales & Marketing, The Monarch Dubai
-Philippe Boven, International Sales Director, Dewitt
-Majbritt Knudsen, Senior Group Account Director, TNS
-Kirsten Spence, Web Operations Manager, Distribution Marketing & Innovation, Jumeirah Group
-Tony Salame, Aishti
-T. B. McClelland, Jr., CEO, The Luxury Marketing Council, Middle East

Estação Cronográfica deixa-lhe aqui algumas declarações antes do evento, feitas por cinco dos oradores, e que dão pistas interessantes sobre os caminhos que o Luxo tomará num futuro próximo:

How do you define luxury?

Christian Blanckaert:

The true meaning of "luxury" is not clear anymore. In fact luxury doesn't mean what it used to 10 to 15 years ago. Back then luxury houses were small, family-owned businesses that knew personally each and everyone one of their customers. Now we have millions of customers. As a result, we need to think about a new definition of luxury. The luxury world has changed completely and is in total evolution. What will luxury mean in the next few years? What type of evolution will we see? What is the next definition of luxury and what do we mean by luxury? How should we define luxury? These are questions we must consider carefully.

What do you think are the greatest opportunities and challenges facing luxury brands?

Eva Jeanbart-Lorenzotti:

I think the greatest challenge luxury brands face today is ensuring they remain relevant, differentiated, unique and meaningful in a crowded marketplace. They need to weave and tell stories and go beyond just being a product. There are massive opportunities open to us as luxury brands and I believe they lie in the fact that markets' and consumers' desires are always growing. Add to this more and more channels of distribution and the opportunities for the luxury industry are endless.

What is your view on the potential of the Middle East for luxury brands?

Guillaume Brochard:

I think the Middle East is an extremely important market and not just in terms of sales in the region. Middle East consumers travel and shop extensively which is not reflected in sales figures in the region. Middle East consumers are familiar with luxury brands and appreciate creativity and craftsmanship. They also have the purchasing power and affluence to support their appreciation of luxury brands and you simply don't have many regions like this in the world that combines both elements.

If you had one piece of advice to give to a young professional looking to pursue a career in the luxury industry, what would it be?

Philippe Charriol:

We must always be optimistic – even though we are in crisis, the world will not stop and the taste for luxury is inherent in every human being, so the young professionals must begin to prepare themselves to step up to the challenge.

And even in difficult times like these why do you think it's important that people still attend conferences?

Jean Claude Biver:

I think in times like this for the luxury industry, the more we attend conferences, the more we continue to develop with our activities, the more we continue to share with our peers the better. Now is not the moment to stop. I always tell my people now is the moment to invest, but in what? Invest in travelling, even if it increases your costs, in promotions, in research and development. Unless you believe the slump will last several years then perhaps you need to re-organise and look at your expenses. As long as we believe the crisis is short-term, that is, 6-18 months which is nothing in the history of a brand, then there's no reason to stop being active. In fact, on the contrary. We must invest in innovation, we must invest in marketing, we must invest more – not less!