What happened when a group of Les Roches Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) students had the chance to work on a real-life project for Moncler, one of the world’s most distinctive luxury brands? In his own words, Student Aashrit Maheish reveals all…
One of the most popular fast foods of this generation is instant noodles, which come in many types and are incredibly easy to cook. But have you ever come across a situation where one person’s instant noodles taste way better than another person’s? The ingredients are the same, the preparation is the same, yet there is a drastic difference in the taste. What is the reason for this?
It is the added flavor that makes all the difference between bland, tasteless instant noodles and the same instant noodles you could eat at a Michelin star restaurant, and which become your Instagram flagship picture.
Why do I bring up a mundane analogy of instant noodles in a hospitality school blog? The fact is that, like noodles, not all schools are the same. There are countless numbers of hospitality schools in the world, but what gives Les Roches its added flavor is the sheer number of opportunities we students have to work outside of the classroom. One of them is the applied business project.
As PGD students we can elect to devote a portion of our study time to work together on an integrated project with a ‘real’ business. Throughout an entire semester we worked closely with Moncler, a luxury company. This gave us a wonderful opportunity to directly transfer the theoretical knowledge that we acquire in class into practical, real life, problem solving and innovation skills. Our work culminated with a presentation to the top management of Moncler at their headquarters in Milan.
Working with such a well reputed brand like Moncler is both exciting and a little inhibiting. The excitement comes from the fact that we, as students with little or no experience, get to actually contribute to a brand that thousands of people dream to work with, but yet we had the opportunity to do so.
On the other hand, some inhibition is also natural, since our findings had to be presented to the top management of Moncler. The thought of being critically evaluated by such reputed people, whose work experience exceeds our ages, was frightening indeed.
Those fears were short lived, though, as once we began our project, we quickly got our hands dirty and minds focused. We put away all the other lingering thoughts.
It was a continuous process throughout the semester. We had weekly sessions with our professor who guided us through the project to make the overall outcome more professional and as accurate as possible.
Overall, the results were fruitful indeed. The presentation we made to Moncler was successful and some of our findings have been taken up by the company to be pursued more rigorously. It was also a great learning experience for us to work with such a renowned brand and to make practical use of our classroom knowledge.
Even more excitingly, no fewer than three of our PGD student cohort have since been invited by Moncler to join the company’s ‘manager in training’ (MIT) program.
To conclude, let me quickly go back to my instant noodles analogy. Les Roches gives you a unique flavor, which is absolutely unmatchable and extremely enticing. Remember, you can get instant noodles anywhere; but always go for those that taste the best.
The Moncler view
By Matthieu Rinville, WW Omnichannel Client and Performance Director at Moncler
“The external phenomena (globalization, digital transformation) that are shaping the luxury industry have changed our customers’ buying behaviors as well. Luxury clients are not just looking for products; they are looking for experiences. And that is why we chose to collaborate with Les Roches.
“As a recognized international hospitality and management school, Les Roches places the excellence and quality of the ‘service’ at the very heart of its mission. Entering a luxury brand store should convey the same feeling and impression as walking into a 5-star luxury hotel. And this is exactly what we want to focus on in order to deliver a comprehensive, seamless experience to our clients. And that is why we decided to start a collaboration with Les Roches, since they are masters of it!
“I really appreciated the curiosity and excitement of the students. I believe these two attitudes are very important, especially nowadays. Being curious means you ask questions to yourself or to others, which means in turn you really care and reflect about the world around us. People with this kind of positive curiosity are eager to learn and they are always open to challenge the status quo. Excitement helps to find your inner motivation for everything you do; which then results in real commitment.
“I saw the students sincerely engaged and interested in our brand. And I couldn’t be happier about this. Realizing that Moncler is a source of inspiration among the youngest represents a significant achievement for us; one which we are very proud of. It makes us even more motivated to keep on going with this collaboration!”
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