Spring Break
Luxury comes to HBS
Ann Lucas, News & Campus Affairs Editor
Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 3 next >
|
W ith gift bags filled with goodies from sponsors such as Elie Tahari, J. Crew, and Bliss, retail and luxury enthusiasts eagerly filled Spangler auditorium to hear the keynote speech of Caryn Lerner, President and CEO of Holt Renfrew & Co., Canada's answer to Neiman Marcus.
Lerner began, "Some trends are hit or miss, but a Harvard degree looks good on anybody." As she chronicled her career, Lerner credited her father for always pushing her towards a path of excellence and as a major contributor to her success in the world of business. Beginning her career as a struggling actress, she eschewed a position at Yale Law in order to take on a role in the executive training program at Bloomingdale's, where she spent the next ten years of her career. She worked up organizations such as QVC and Escada USA, and took a calculated risk when she recently uprooted her family to move to Canada to take on new successes at Holt Renfrew. Lerner has led important changes in re-branding the franchise by putting it at the forefront of fashion by mixing established and emerging brands and improving customer experience through an extensive $60 million re-modeling of their stores. Questions from the audience touched on important points from green initiatives in the retail industry, which is a concern on many retailer's radars, to how to provide compelling incentives for employees.
"We focused on expanding the panels this year to shed some light on the broad spectrum of management issues that affect the retail and luxury goods industries," said Alexis DePree of the Retail and Apparel Club. With over 27 speakers and panels on Online Retailing, Private Equity and Retail, The Customer Experience, Luxury Brands, Brand Reinvention and Turnaround, and Beauty and Fragrance, Aldrich was bustling with activity.
Be the first to comment on this story