EAE News
The talent of EAE students, put to the test at LVMH's Awareness Day
29 de May de 2019
The LVMH Group took part in the Awareness Day at the JoaquĆn Costa Campus, where it presented the differential values of three of its brands: TAG Heuer, Givenchy and LOEWE.
The Professional Careers Department organized the LVMH Awareness Day at EAE's Madrid Campus. For a few hours, the Events Hall became a watchmaking workshop and an ideas laboratory that gave rise to some ingenious business propositions. The event included the participation of executives from the brands of the LVMH Group, including Blanca Panzano, the CEO of Watches & Jewellery in Spain at TAG Heuer, Eva Hoffmann, the General Director of Fragrances for Spain at LVMH, and Alex Iborra, Global Retail HRBP at LOEWE.
Marta Juan, the Talent Manager at LVMH got the session under way by welcoming the students of EAE Business School. The Talent Acquisition Manager gave the participants a general overview of the French luxury, which operates in 70 countries with 70 exceptional brands and 156 thousand employees around the world. With a revenue at the close of 2018 of 46.8 billion euros, an increase of 14% from the previous year, the LVMH Group strives to "build the future of tradition" in sectors as varied as wines and spirits, jewellery and watches, fashion and leatherware, fragrances and cosmetics, among others.
TAG Heuer, the advice of a CEO
Blanca Panzano, the CEO of Watches & Jewellery Spain TAG Heuer, visited EAE Business School with two watchmakers from the Swiss firm. The General Manager explained her professional experience in groups such as L'OrƩal and Zara, as well as her first contact with the watch sector in Zenith and TAG Heuer. In Blanca's opinion, "the most important thing is to embrace change, adapt to things as they happen and learn to manage ambiguity".
Discussing her training in Switzerland, the executive emphasized the highly motivating multicultural environment, "LVMH has enabled me to develop my entrepreneurial nature, creativity and innovation, as well as a great capacity to develop as a professional". The French luxury group "preserves the character of brands and people". With respect to leading, she explained that "as the CEO, it is important to surround yourself by good people and be honest in order to make progress together as a team", as well as underlining the importance of qualities such as a positive attitude and adaptability.
Blanca Panzano then went on to give the students an explanation of the differential values of the watch company TAG Heuer, as well as its DNA and codes. Savoir faire, fashion, elegance, prestige, innovation passion and quality are all defining characteristics of the Swiss watch firm, which is looking to reconquer the younger market. The leader in the 1,000 to 6,000 euros price segment, TAG Heuer upholds its claim "Don't Crack Under Pressure", while its know-how integrates elements such as disruption, sports, the avant-garde, adrenaline, challenges and non-conformity.
The CEO of TAG Heuer Spain then analysed the watch brand's target market, emphasizing the importance of listening to the end customer. Focusing on this objective, the Swiss watchmaker has developed four universes: sport, lifestyle, music and heritage, each of which is nourished by its own sponsors and ambassadors. The session finished with a watchmaking workshop that gave the participants an insight into the basic components of automatic movement, run by Fernando Soca, the Director of the Customer Technical Service at LVMH, and Pablo MejƔis, a watchmaker.
Eva Hoffmann, the Givenchy challenge
The luxury and cosmetics expert, Eva Hoffmann has been the Director of Fragrance Brands at LVMH since 2017, overseeing brands such as Kenzo and Givenchy. Passionate about her work, she has learned a lot from the last few months in Spain and applies this knowledge in her day-to-day work. "In my opinion, if you really want something, you can achieve it. Every runway you land on is also a runway for taking off". Moreover, she explained that the meaning of a brand is "a collection of perceptions in the consumer's mind", which she therefore considers as an intangible asset that is different for each person. With this in mind, "to create a successful brand, we have to generate a complete experience for the target consumer", explained Eva Hoffmann.
During her presentation, the German CEO gave the EAE students an insight into the spirit of the Givenchy brand, its close relationship with haute couture and its elevated, distinctive and more consistent approach to communicating, highlighting its attitude and personality. The French luxury firm reinvents the future without forgetting the past. To illustrate her point, she mentioned the launch of L'Interdit in 2018, a renewed interpretation of the Maison's first, Hubert de Givenchy, which was created for the actor, which has been spectacularly well received worldwide. The media interest in the perfume around the world has to be maintained throughout 2019. To achieve this, Eva asked the EAE students to develop a strategic plan to keep up the brand expectation while continuing to work to increase the growth of the firm's other fragrances.
LOEWE: past, present and future
The Global Retail HRBP at LOEWE, Alex Iborra took part in LVMH Awareness Day with a session divided into two parts. The first consisted of a brand presentation outlining its characteristic values, history and the Spanish luxury firm's links with art and culture. The LOEWE team then divided the participants into teams and set them a business case which they had to develop with "an open, creative and international mindset", before presenting it to their classmates. For a few minutes, the EAE students has a taste of forming part of a LOEWE team belonging to the Retail, CRM, Marketing and Public Relations departments. During this time, they had to create an action plan to generate traffic to the next Paula's Ibiza in the Gran VĆa store.
From the HR Department of LOEWE, MarĆa Trujillo, the Talent Acquisition and former EAE student, explained that the company's business values are inclusion and diversity. She then told the students about the qualities and aptitudes that are most highly valued by the Spanish luxury firm in its talent acquisition strategy. "We look for motivation and that the candidates have a sensibility for the world of art, culture and fashion. They have to creative, curious and fun. We also strive to find excellence and passion, from candidates who are global and international".