As part of my second year ESSCA, I was asked to do an internship in the marketing function, either in the sales department, or in the purchase section. The goal is to have a direct relationship with a customer or a supplier (BtoB or BtoC), to participate actively and be essential to the commercial activity. I chose a course of sale lasting 2 months BtoC, at the UK headquarters of Christian Dior on Sloane Street. I had two main reasons for choosing this course: the challenge and the pay.
Indeed, having already completed an internship in BtoC sales in the first year at Nespresso in Paris and then having acquired a similar experience with Reiss in London that summer, I was able to form an opinion on the practice of selling in a company with a luxury positioning. Thus my experience with Christian Dior did not lead to me discovering something entirely new, but to make the best choices with the constraints that were present. Thus with my experience, I wanted to take on the challenge presented by this business, which is well known in the luxury sector.
The Dior company sells ready to wear haute couture and many luxury accessories. Dior also offers some services. The shop where I interned offers ready-to-wear and accessories for women. In the ready-to-wear department, furs dresses, jeans, suits, skirts, coats, etc, were sold.
Among the accessories, the top selling items were the handbags. They were of different compositions (lambskin, cowhide, snakeskin, crocodile, synthetic leather, suede, shiny patent leather, etc.) According to the collections, prices range from £250 to £12,000.
Then there are the shoes of various types (boots, ballet shoes, sports shoes, sandals, etc.) with prices ranging between £130 and £1500 a pair. Also, the brand offers hats, gloves, scarves, and key chains.
Regarding watches, they rank at the boundary between fashion accessories and jewelry. In fact, with advanced technology and materials of exceptional quality such as sapphire crystal (with or without diamonds), these pieces feel between £ 2200 and £30,000.
The activity of this company is mainly selling premium quality products that need to convey the core values of Dior: creativity, sophistication, elegance and excellence.
The company's business is organized around seven areas:
-The administration for a smooth flow of information within the company and controlled management of paperwork.
-Customer service to satisfy the customer after purchase and respond to any needs in order to retain loyalty.
-The Human Resources Department to recruit experienced quality staff, and whose motivation is consistent with the values of the company.
-The marketing\ communication department in order to propose solutions in accordance with the powers of the company, in terms of image and budget. This division deals with merchandising, advertising, events, etc.
-The logistics to manage in-time inventory, and optimize the availability of items between different stores in different countries.
-The finance division to check, make financial statements of the company, offer cheaper alternatives, etc.
-The sales department, working alongside the other poles to establish an effective trade policy.
Tags: Christian Dior, ready-to-wear, brand image, luxury accessories
[...] Seeing that she loved the pink and silver model, I immediately thought of the matching bag. Without overdoing it but being friendly and simple, I knew conduct a concise and compelling argument. In value terms, it was not the best sales I made, but in terms of argument, I think so. Furthermore, this sale was accompanied by a feeling that I did not have so often had with other clients. This notion of feeling, so imprecise can she look seems paramount in the year of sale. [...]
[...] She also accused me of not being flexible enough. Indeed, I have repeatedly asked to have my Weekends to concerts, or leave on time (because nobody was leaving his post before when I had signed a contract to days ending at 19h and forbidding me to do more than 40 hours per week, which was never fulfilled). In fact, I was with a view to short- term contract, with no prospect of change to perform work which moreover do not interest me. [...]
[...] The unconventional commercial operation smile, that is false and hypocritical, but essential in the profession. I believed in it more than once. As for me, I'm a rather slow, thoughtful, artist, and when the work does not interest me, I'm not able to drive short-term. So it's not really the type of person who looks like me, though I respect and admire his work, and that's why it was difficult for me to make such a transformation over time to match its requirements. [...]
[...] How I found my internship? I found my internship through the collection placements made by former 2A ESSCA. At first, being attracted to real estate, I applied to be trading at Westways Agency in London, but also at Dior, after a few weeks i got a favorable response by mail Westways, but a negative letter from Dior -what I accept with difficulty, following the very good contact that we had during the telephone interview. I then began the administrative process with the validation slip internship ESSCA. [...]
[...] In accessories, we first characterized all the bags. They are of different compositions (lambskin, cowhide, python, crocodile, synthetic leather, suede, shiny patent leather, etc.) depending on the collection. Prices range from £ 250 to £ 12,000. Then there are the shoes of various types (boots, ankle boots, ballet, basketball shoes, sandals, etc.) of different compositions also as collections also. Prices are between £ 130 and £ 1,500 a pair. Then there are the hats, gloves, scarves, scarves or key rings. [...]
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