Loro Piana Challenge. The Award Goes to Both Tradition and Internationality

TWO ITALIANS, AN INDIAN, A FRENCH AND A LEBANESE. THAT IS THE TEAM AWARDED A 4 MONTH INTERNSHIP AT LORO PIANA. BUT WE WERE ALSO STRUCK BY OTHER PROJECTS' DEEP ANALYSIS AND INNOVATIVE IDEAS, SAYS THE CEO MATTHIEU BRISSET

The Business Challenge organized by Bocconi University and Loro Piana, the Italian company associated to the LVMH group, has come to an end. This initiative saw about 120 students of 23 different nationalities (and divided into 24 teams) engaged in the realization of business projects "aimed at rethinking the communication and distribution of the brand, while keeping the product and the price unchanged", explains Emanuela Prandelli, Associate Professor of Management at Bocconi. After a final with 6 teams, one was proclaimed by CEO Matthieu Brisset as the winner of the Challenge and earned a 4-month internship at Loro Piana. The winning team is made up of five students: Gaurav Sachdev, Lyne Jaroudi, Alice Côme, Clara Nanut (enrolled in the Master in Fashion, Experience & Design Management) and Martina Rossi (who studies Management).

"Gaurav is Indian, Lyne is Lebanese, Alice is French and the two of us Italian. We are an international team, that was our strength", say Clara and Martina. "They gave the project an open-minded character, while the two of us managed in keeping it coherent with tradition and Italian lifestyle, two fundamental values for the brand". The project starts in fact with an analysis of the competitors, of the customer profile and of the founding values ​​of Loro Piana, such as quality and authenticity, luxury, tradition and family. "Loro Piana must shift its perspective from a product seller to a lifestyle seller”, explain the students. Among the ideas suggested, the winning team proposed in-store tablets to explain the origins of the products, to give style tips and to offer a glimpse of the Loro Piana lifestyle to the customer. "We also propose the creation of the ‘Da Loro Club’ for loyal Italian resident customers with three exclusive events, one targeted to ladies, ‘Da Lei Club’, one for gentlemen ‘Da Lui Club’, and one for the Families ‘Da Loro Club’”, says Clara.

"We were stunned by projects’ deep analysis and unconventional methods and by the fact that almost all of them were strongly oriented towards the customer, which is our real owner", stresses Brisset. Just before the announcement of the winning project, the CEO addressed an honorable mention to the team made up of Cynthia Farhat, Solene Pages, Saad Hassan, Ekta Chohan (all enrolled in the Master in Fashion, Experience & Design Management), which, despite not conquering first place, realized an innovative project, effectively exposing it to the audience. Prandelli is also satisfied with the initiative and the projects elaborated by the students, who all proposed tools and innovations related to the digital world. She adds, "The success of the Challenge has also depended on the commitment of Loro Piana, from the proposal of the case to the constant dedication shown with the students in the last month and a half".

by Benedetta Ciotto