Mumbai, December 5, 2013 MISB Bocconi, the India presence of SDA Bocconi of Italy, today announced the launch of IBM Luxury Retail Academy. The academy will serve as a platform for discussions and training on luxury and retail management in India. The first batch under going training for Luxury Retail Management includes executives from Europe and India. The inauguration comprised of a roundtable on ‘Innovation In Retail’ addressed by imminent personalities associated with the retail sector including John Blackburn, VP Distribution Sector – Growth Markets, IBM; Darshan Mehta, Managing Director Reliance Brands; Marco Riggio, Managing Director, L’Oreal Luxury Products. The international faculty for the programme includes Sandro Castaldo, SDA Professor of Marketing, Scientific Director of Channel and Retail Academy, and Monica Grosso, EM-Lyon (France) Professor of Marketing.
The executive program in Luxury Retail Management is designed for middle managers who have or are about to have trade-marketing and channel-management positions in manufacturing/services companies, talent managers and/or young executives geared towards positions in national and international retailers. The module of the program is divided into two part- five days of classroom session and eight days of online sessions with international faculty at the Milan campus.
Speaking about the IBM Luxury Retail Academy, Mr. Alessandro Guilani, Managing Director, MISB Bocconi, said “The modern retail sector in India is at an inflection stage, predicted to be $750 billion by 2015. As International brands enhance their presence in India, the need for quality and trained manpower will be a key factor in the success of the brands and businesses. Through the IBM Luxury Retail Academy, we aim to provide a global perspective, through international faculty, to the budding Indian retail executives and global executives interested in doing business in India.”
According to Prof. Sandro Casaldo, SDA Professor of Marketing and faculty for Luxury Retail Management at MISB Bocconi: “People are one of the key differentiator in the retail sector. As technology impacts every sector, including retail, the managers of today and tomorrow, need to understand the changing business dynamics and learn to quickly adapt to market needs. The Luxury Retail Management programme is a step in the direction of grooming talent for retail, capable of operational excellence and innovations in creating unique retail experience for customers, both online and in-store experiences.”