Field Trip to Italy
Milan & Florence
27th March - 1st April
Towards the end of March was our last week of our 3rd term at ESSEC. It was a very busy time with some of us having 5 presentations and accompanying papers due over a 4 day period. All of these projects were group work and so simply coordinating our time to be able to do the work was a challenge as most all of the time we did not have the same members in each group.
After surviving our last week and with all our class work and stress out of the way we were able to take it a bit easier and focus on networking with a trip to Italy.
Our field trip to Italy was a fabulous experience as we got to meet with many of the top luxury fashion companies including: Ermenegildo Zegna, Bottega Veneta, Giorgio Armani, Richemont Group, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo and Gucci. Whilst we have already been lucky enough to meet with many of their French counterparts this was an opportunity to meet with the Italian luxury brands and to get an understanding of the similarities and differences between the two.
Our first day was a full day at Zegna’s factory just outside of Milan. Bernadetta Zegna gave us a talk on the company and then we were given a tour of their factory and Museum. The second day we met with the worldwide merchandising manager for Bottega Veneta and then a store visit to Armani Casa where we were given a talk by the store manager. Wednesday was a full day workshop with Richemont’s Creative Academy. They have roughly 20 students studying design at this academy. They do a one year course including an internship and at the end they have a position at one of the Richemont brands. In groups comprised of ESSEC Students and Richemont Students we had to work together to deliver a brand extension of one of their brands. It was a thoroughly rewarding day and I think both the ESSEC Students and the Richemont students really enjoyed working together.
Later on Wednesday night we met with the Merchandising manager for Prada for Asia Pacific who was an alumni from our course. He had come from a background in IT marketing in Canada and after the course got a job as a buyer at Printemps in Paris before being poached by Prada and moved to Milan a few years later.
Thursday we caught the train to Florence where we met with a representative from Salvatore Ferragamo and were given a tour of their museum. Friday was a full day with Gucci were we were given presentations and a tour of the factory. We were lucky that day as President and CEO Patrizio di Marco was in the office that day so we got to meet with him.
Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable and productive trip we got to meet with some great people and companies and I think everyone went home feeling enormously satisfied.
