China's First Fashion and Luxury Advanced Management Program is a great success!

(16^th March 2007)

China's ground-breaking Advanced Management Program in Fashion and Luxury will graduate its first class of 51 managers in March 2007. The program, the first of its kind in China, was developed by three prestigious international institutes: Tsinghua School of Economics and Management, Institut Français de la Mode and the HEC School of Management-Paris*.

The course has been an unprecedented success. More than 50 graduates from senior level management from 24 companies in the fashion and luxury sectors will receive international certificates for completing this management training. The average age of the first graduating class was 38 years, and they came to the program with 14 years of work experience.

To mark this very special event, a graduation ceremony will be held at Tsinghua SEM on Saturday 17 March 2007. Mr. Marc Dubrule, Strategic Development Director for L'OREAL Produits de Luxe International and an expert business leader for the Asian luxury market, will be the special guest speaker.

The objective of the Advanced Management Program in Fashion and Luxury is to prepare senior managers for the challenges in the rapidly evolving Chinese fashion and luxury markets. The six-module executive program comprises a wide range of subjects including global strategy and brand management, globalization and innovation, product strategy and brand management. Each module is run over a 3-day weekend on the Tsinghua campus in Beijing.

HEC Paris, the IFM and the Tsinghua SEM have all contributed a number of their internationally-recognized faculty to teach in this program. These include Professor Jean-Noël Kapferer, a globally recognized expert in luxury and brand management, Professor Florence Muller, a leading French expert on fashion & luxury culture and history and Professor Li Fei, a leading expert on China's retail management and brand positioning management. The Chinese executives on the course can further enhance their international exposure in the fashion and luxury sector by taking an optional study trip to Paris, the world's fashion capital, in May 2007. This eight-day trip will give participants the opportunity to encounter the luxury industry and attend high-level meetings and conferences led by authorities in the field.

The next intake of managers will be in September 2007. Application brochures and materials for the Advanced Management Program in Fashion and Luxury 2007-8 are available at http://www.hec.fr/hec/eng/fashion-luxury

Press Contact, HEC School of Management