GCU London leads student to life of luxury

A MBA Luxury Brand Management student is preparing for a career in the beauty industry after landing a year-long internship just months before graduating.

Ariadna Jordan Marcos graduated earlier this month from GCU London and will continue in the city after starting her role in August with LVMH.

LVMH are one of the world’s leading luxury groups and manage the likes of Tiffany & Co., Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and TAG Heuer. Ariadna is using the knowledge gained from her degree to help support cosmetic company Guerlain in her role as Commercial and Operations Intern.

This is just the latest chapter in Ariadna’s impressive career journey. We sat down with her to find out more:

Travel

“I’m originally Spanish but moved to the USA to do my Undergraduate in Marketing and Business. I always had a desire to travel and I was able to go to the USA because I was a tennis player. I moved when I was 17 and I really enjoyed meeting new people and experiencing new cultures, but I always knew after my degree I would end up somewhere in Europe.

“Before arriving in London for my Masters, I actually moved to Ireland for a year and worked as a marketing executive for an education company in Dublin. Marketing was the main field within my Undergraduate and I wanted to get more experience in it at that point in my career.”

Fashion

“I’d always had this passion for fashion - particularly luxury - and knew I wanted to do a Masters that combined my Undergraduate with this interest.

“I’ve always loved London because it’s a big city like Barcelona, which is where I grew up. London was my first choice because it’s so well known for its high-end fashion. When I was researching where to study, it was quite clear that London had very good options. I then came across MBA Luxury Brand Management at GCU London. I really liked the idea of studying it because it covered all the different sectors of the luxury industry, like hospitality and beauty – it wasn’t just about fashion. I decided to apply and thankfully got a place.”

Studying at GCU London

“It really was great. The classes were perfect for me and it was good that there were two semesters with four courses in each. Most of the coursework was projects and I also liked that there was individual and group work. There were also many guest speakers, which really gave me an insight into how the industry works. I definitely had more confidence in the second semester because I was able to understand more about the topic of luxury brand management.”

Dior placement

“There is no requirement to complete any professional work in order for you to graduate. I was a full-time student but continued working remotely with the company I was part of in Ireland. During my course at GCU, I applied to work in the luxury sector and got a three-month placement at Dior during the Christmas period last year.

“It was more retail-focused, but I wanted to get experience in the luxury industry and this was great for me as I knew it would make it easier for me to get a job within the industry.”

Career choices

“Before I finished my dissertation in August, I also started applying for jobs. London is so competitive for work and if you don’t start applying for jobs six months in advance, it can be quite hard to secure something.

“At University, I tried to focus on different sectors across my projects. It was a real mix of different areas: champagne, beauty, hospitality and fashion. I started to realise that I wanted to focus on beauty and hospitality. I’ve always worked in fashion but I knew there was more choice available to me in these other areas – especially beauty.”

LVMH Internship

“I’m based at the LVMH offices in Kensington High Street, which is where all their beauty brands are situated. My role in Commercial and Operations is between sales teams & the training and retail team. My job focuses on 80% sales and 20% more around logistics and training.

“My best friend right now is Microsoft Excel! I work with Guerlain and basically use formulas to provide weekly sales figures to Area Managers across the UK and Ireland. This takes into account places like House of Fraser and Harrods. I also check productivity reports and target reports to show them how much money they need to make in terms of things like skincare, make-up and fragrances.

“I also help with the training of new beauty consultants in stores. They come to the main offices in London so I help book trains and hotels, while also making sure they’re given a nice gift.

“I really like my team, everybody is so nice! It is a lot to get used to because there is a lot of information and it is such a big company.”

Future plans

“I would like to stay in London for a couple of years because there are a lot of great opportunities, but I don’t think it’s somewhere I would stay for too long.

“I’d like to explore more of Europe if it was a possibility, and after my internship I would like to continue working with LVMH. If I have the opportunity to continue with Guerlain then that would be amazing, but I’ve already been told that they will try and move me to one of the other LVMH brands if that isn’t a possibility. I’m really excited for what’s to come!”

Find out more about GCU London’s MBA Luxury Brand Management

By Ross Clark      
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter