Introduction

For many people, Monaco and Monte Carlo are synonymous with the luxury lifestyle. This section of the website aims to give you the sources necessary to research this current growth sector.

Luxury books

Check the luxury bibliography page for a list of books and other resources about luxury.

Luxury Surveys

Barclays Wealth and the Economist Intelligence Unit have joined forces to publish 4 Insight reports. The first volume, entitled 'The Future of Wealth – 2006 to 2016' reports in what way the G7 countries have become more wealthy. Volume 2 discusses the increase of women's spending power and its importance to the luxury sector, and is called 'A Question of Gender'. There's a discussion of what wealthy people think about 'Risk, Return and Reward' and how this affects their investment decisions in volume 3. The 4th volume, 'The True Value of Wealth', examines what's important to wealthy individuals. Not surprisingly, it seems that when you have more money than you can possibly spend, the ultimate luxury is time.

If you want to know what the wealthiest Americans think about luxury, then a useful resource is the Luxury Institute, which regularly surveys the richest 10% of the US population to find out which brands are perceived to be the most prestigious. Similarly, the Hurun Report publishes an annual survey of wealthy Chinese and presents awards to the brands considered to be luxury or premium.

Luxury Links

Here are some links to websites that may be useful.

Beyond Beauty Magazine

Q. Where can I study luxury management?

The ESSEC Business School in Paris, France, offers an 11 month MBA specializing in luxury brand management. You can also study here in Monaco at the International University of Monaco, which offers a MSc in Luxury Goods and Services. Both of these graduate programs are taught in English.

For a shorter program, you could try the advanced luxury and fashion management program organized by the HEC and the Institut Francais de la Mode (both in Paris), and the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, is taught primarily in Beijing and Shanghai, with a final seminar in Paris. Students graduate with an International Certificate.

Another French business school, the ESC Rennes, has a luxury research centre, and at the time of writing they report that they'll be offering an MBA in Luxury Products & Services Management in 2008/2009. Uche Okwonko, author of the recent book Luxury Fashion Branding, is involved.

Currently, you'll find links to four research seminar presentations in PDF format covering planning, executing (searching databases and getting the most from the Internet) and writing up a research project. There's also a reading list on the main graduate research page.

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