BUSI550: Lancel is a world-famous brand in the field of bags and leather goods It was founded over 140 years ago in Paris,: INTERNSHIP REPORT, Ireland

Lancel is a world-famous brand in the field of bags and leather goods. It was founded over 140 years ago in Paris, France. The French enterprise actively participated to the women’s emancipation from the end of the 19th Century. Historically, Lancel has always been a trendsetter (they filled over one hundred patents) until recent years when they decreased. Eventually, the company got acquired in 2018 by the Italian Group specialized in leather goods, Piquadro. The new owners are reorienting the strategy of the brand passing from the luxury leather goods market to the premium one.

My role as an intern at Lancel was quite fulfilling. At first, the job was described to me as having tasks that a normal employee would have. So, I was delighted to see it was actually the case. I was in charge of taking care of the website. Later I got more missions changing position from Assistant to Project Manager. I then developed my own project with the platform of the Galeries Lafayette to optimize the sales and with Google My Business to improve the online presence of Lancel online.

These two lasts became the highlights of my internship as I exceeded the objectives with the Galeries Lafayette and that the CEO himself validated and put the Google strategy as a main axis for the company! On a daily basis, I was in charge of analysis the results, do and revisit the merchandising of the website, making sure that the products are not out of stocks and that they are online. I was also making sure that all the visuals are good for the current products as well as for the upcoming ones. Daily I was also developing my own projects like the gift card that would functions on the website and in the stores.

These daily activities taught me about the importance of every tasks even the smallest ones that we tend to put aside, they may turn to be the most crucial ones.

The American Business School of Paris prepared me well for this internship through a program close to the everyday working reality. Especially with classes like Project Management – MGT690, EMarketing – MKT578, Strategic marketing – MKT577Or even International M&A – FIN621 as I was in a company that recently got acquired. Moreover, the experience from the professors was valuable to me.

Finally, having the opportunity to do my internship at Lancel truly helped me for the future in facilitating my choices in what I liked and disliked at work. This report is assessing the current situation of Lancel according to my research and what I observed during my six months there. It shows a company that will succeed its transition from the luxury to the premium market in the upcoming years even if it still has a long way to go

1 Introduction

1.1 Intern Introduction

As for everyone it is important, I believe, to know where one is from to understand them. I was born and raised in the South West of France in a little town called Mazamet, living with my two brothers, one younger and one older, and my parents. I was privileged, I had the chance to grow up in a very safe environment before moving to a bigger city, Toulouse. There, I went to university (Toulouse Capitole) to get my first diploma in Economics and Laws in the hope to become a trader.

But, after an internship in that specific field I reconsidered my future and left to the United States, in Los Angeles to do a master in media and communication (Hult International Business School and EF Language School) while improving my English skills. That is when I decided to orientate myself toward something more “human” if I may say so. I landed in Germany at the ICN Business School (a French Business School but at their campus of Nuremberg) to do a bachelor’s degree in International Management with a minor in Luxury and Fashion.

Three years later, after two years in Germany and one in the US, as newly graduated I decided to go for one more diploma at the American Business School of Paris, in International Business with minor in Geopolitics and Strategic Business.

So, this is my educational background. Regarding my work background, I worked in digital and HR with Amazon to deal with some communication problems they had in intern between the Headquarter and their managers in warehouses. I worked in Los Angeles in an event company (music and weddings).

In Germany I worked in marketing and communication (consulting internship). And, in France, I worked in a bank as a trainee trader on the forex (Euro-Dollar exchange), as well as on marketing and strategy for the creation of a website for a brand selling luxury products.

In addition to this quite exhaustive list about my background, here are my hobbies. I love to write (currently writing a book), read, visit museums, play sports especially golf and football, and drawing. I had the chance to travel in a great number of countries, and live in few of them (France, Germany, Japan, England and USA). This allowed me to meet many people from all around the world and learn from them. I believe that these experiences made me grow up, be more open minded and empathetic.

I decided to study at the American Business School for my MBA for several reasons. The first one was that I almost came to the ABS for my bachelor before going to Germany, so I felt like I still had my story to write there. I was really attracted to this school because of its link to the American University system that I feel I am more fit for. It requires more doing, more thinking on your own.

Because during my first bachelor, in French system, I disliked this “learn by heart and repeat” a kind of copy and paste that I felt incredibly hard for me to cope with. Therefore, when I had the opportunity to leave that system and not fall back into it, I seized it. Furthermore, when I had my interview with the Dean, mister Fadel, I felt treated as human being and it was the same during the whole registration process. It was not the case for most of the schools I also applied for. In the end, I had several options, however the choice was easy for me, I chose the American Business School for its internationality and human side.