Trying to decide between ESSEC Luxury brand management MBA and NYU's fashion & luxury MBA.
I am an American who grew up in India, received a B.F.A in jewelry design + metal-smithing from Rhode Island School of Design and have been working in Manhattan in the jewelry industry in a more product management and design strategy role. This led me to want to pursue a luxury focused MBA as I want to fill in the gaps in my expertise which would be the business strategy side of things (as I already understand design, product and production).

I am trying to figure out which school is the better option for me. My end goals is to settle down in America or India (but if I went to ESSEC I would try to work in Europe for a few years before moving out). My desire is to stay in the luxury industry - preferably jewelry/accessories. Would having more international exposure in the luxury field (considering New York and Paris are luxury hubs) be considered valuable (in India & USA) if I chose to go to ESSEC or would it be better to go to NYU which means my experience (undergrad, work and graduate school) is more America focused. I also am under the impression that NYU has more brand recognition in India and USA, which is a factor to consider.

P.S - I have been accepted to ESSEC and interviewed with NYU few weeks ago so waiting to hear back. I am prepared to apply again next year if going to Europe/ESSEC doesn't make sense.

[Edited by Jewelrygirl on Jan 29, 2020]

Trying to decide between ESSEC Luxury brand management MBA and NYU's fashion & luxury MBA.
I am an American who grew up in India, received a B.F.A in jewelry design + metal-smithing from Rhode Island School of Design and have been working in Manhattan in the jewelry industry in a more product management and design strategy role. This led me to want to pursue a luxury focused MBA as I want to fill in the gaps in my expertise which would be the business strategy side of things (as I already understand design, product and production).

I am trying to figure out which school is the better option for me. My end goals is to settle down in America or India (but if I went to ESSEC I would try to work in Europe for a few years before moving out). My desire is to stay in the luxury industry - preferably jewelry/accessories. Would having more international exposure be considered valuable (in India & USA)(If I chose to go to ESSEC - considering grew up in India, did undergrad and worked in USA and then did graduate school in Paris) or would it be better to go to NYU which means my experience (undergrad, work and graduate school) is more America focused but also that NYU has more brand recognition/network in India and USA.

P.S - I have been accepted to ESSEC and interviewed with NYU few weeks ago so waiting to hear back. I am prepared to apply again next year if going to Europe/ESSEC doesn't make sense.

Trying to decide between ESSEC Luxury brand management MBA and NYU's fashion & luxury MBA.
I am an American who grew up in India, received a B.F.A in jewelry design + metal-smithing from Rhode Island School of Design and have been working in Manhattan in the jewelry industry in a more product management and design strategy role. This led me to want to pursue a luxury focused MBA as I want to fill in the gaps in my expertise which would be the business strategy side of things (as I already understand design, product and production).

I am trying to figure out which school is the better option for me. My end goals is to settle down in America or India (but if I went to ESSEC I would try to work in Europe for a few years before moving out). My desire is to stay in the luxury industry - preferably jewelry/accessories. Would having more international exposure in the luxury field (considering New York and Paris are luxury hubs) be considered valuable (in India & USA) if I chose to go to ESSEC or would it be better to go to NYU which means my experience (undergrad, work and graduate school) is more America focused. I also am under the impression that NYU has more brand recognition in India and USA, which is a factor to consider.

P.S - I have been accepted to ESSEC and interviewed with NYU few weeks ago so waiting to hear back. I am prepared to apply again next year if going to Europe/ESSEC doesn't make sense.

Hey Marcus, I am looking for insight/advice on which school might be the better fit for me. I didn't ask how much would people pay me if I moved to India :/ .
Your response isn't really addressing anything I asked.

Hey Marcus, I am looking for insight/advice on which school might be the better fit for me. I didn't ask how much would people pay me if I moved to India :/ .
Your response isn't really addressing anything I asked.

NYU seems to be a better fit. You are correct that it's a stronger brand name not only regionally but also nationally (and internationally). Also spot on with location and luxury hubs. Your experience, education and overall profile would fit nicely with a NYU degree.

I believe most luxury brands are in developed countries and not in emerging markets like India. Operations and Retail - yes but no shot calling. Cannot think of any Indian brand that's considered a forerunner in luxury industry. Not that requires a brand management or MBA specifically anyways.

ESSEC could be your safe option. Another thing to note is that ESSEC is not in Paris, it's some 30-40 Km outside of Paris. Compare that with NYU. If you get into NYU go for it.

The general NYU MBA would probably be better than this specialized degree, assuming you can land an internship with a top luxury firm during the program.

Luxury can be a difficult field to get into. But the difficulty isn't really about technical barriers or anything that can be addressed with a specialized program, just the fact that there are few MBA-level jobs on offer in luxury firms.

So I don't understand the need for a specialized program, just experience in the industry and pounding pavement / networking.

If you go for ESSEC, learn French before you arrive. Your RISD degree and experience will be valued much more if you can speak to contacts in the language of their emotions.

Yes, NYU would have more brand value in both America and India - and if you are already a US citizen / permanent resident, you wouldn't have to worry about the dreaded H1B.

Hi everyone!

Thank you all for your insights ! Much appreciated !
I just found out I got into NYU's program a few days ago. I'm still deciding between the 2 but I feel that NYU does seem to be the better fit for me overall considering that I want to eventually come back here and don't currently speak French!

So I am not close to luxury markets but have worked with many clients who are, and personally have worked on marketing projects for apparel and interior design. I think what really matters is whether you are passionate to work in the Americas or in Europe. After that, the differences don't matter.

My experience, as a European who completed MBA coursework at top US business schools is that US MBAs are pretty disinterested at understanding the rest of the world. Rather, they want to recognize opportunities that fit their filters and look for opportunities that are sweet spots for their value proposition. My experience at a top French business school was the opposite: the focus is on understanding the value in the eye of the customer.

However, looking back at your comment about wanting to understand strategy, this is where French business excels. US businesses are pragmatic, not strategic, and the same is true of most MBAs educated in the USA. Partly that is because of US firms' dependence on other people's equity, while French firms will bootstrap and borrow rather than take equity. US firms will test and experiment rather than analyze thoroughly, plan in detail and then execute massively, in the matter of French strategy.

PS Professionally, NYU is totally the low-risk option. Status matters more in India, and no-one will question the NYU brand. But, at the end of the day, it is all about the passion in your heart and almost certainly you have already made your choice and are just looking for validation and rationalizations.

[Edited by Duncan on Feb 10, 2020]