Bottega Veneta is offering four scholarships in partnership with International University of Monaco for luxury management programs. (Bottega Veneta)
In order to solve a lack of supply when it comes to Chinese-language experts in the luxury sector, Italian luxury brand Bottega Veneta joins a growing number of luxury brands that have decided to groom their own. The company announced in March that it is offering four scholarships in partnership with the International University of Monaco (IUM) for MBA and Masters of Science programs in luxury management.
The scholarship is open to international native Chinese or Japanese speakers who are fluent in English, and have three to four years of experience either in luxury retail or the luxury hotel sector. The program begins September 2014, and applicants will be assessed based on their focus and initiative. Admissions are jointly decided by Bottega Veneta and IUM, and applicants also have to fulfill IUM’s admission criteria for the school’s MBA and Master of Science programs. Successful candidates will additionally take part in the “Bottega Veneta Integration and Talent Development Program” within the company’s headquarters and boutiques, which is dedicated to fully equip those individuals for their future career in the management of stores in Japan or China.
Bottega Veneta is not the first luxury brand to partner with universities to prepare Chinese-language experts—its parent company Kering announced in early April the launch of an 18-month program with Beijing’s Tsinghua University to develop talent for the brand’s needs. With massive luxury expansion into China’s second-tier cities and a need to hire Mandarin-speaking staff at shops and hotels across the world, Chinese speakers with luxury expertise are in in high demand globally. As a result, students from China are flocking overseas to study luxury management.
With incredible demand for employees that have a strong understanding of both Chinese culture and luxury, more brands are likely to join Kering and Bottega Veneta in their focus on training Chinese students—and those that have a head start will have an edge in the increasingly competitive market.