Inaugural Luxury Brands Summit in Singapore Accelerates Digital Transformation of Luxury Brands in Asia Pacific

Inaugural Luxury Brands Summit in Singapore Accelerates Digital Transformation of Luxury Brands in Asia Pacific

SINGAPORE, May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 100 industry and academic professionals will convene at the Mystique of Luxury Brands Conference 2018 held in Singapore for the first time. They will exchange ideas and views covering the latest trends in luxury brands and the future of the sector in the digital age. Into its third year running1, the event is hosted by Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), Curtin University's Luxury Branding Research Cluster and Louken Group. Guest-of-Honour, Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower, will grace the event, which is held at Sheraton Towers from 8 to 9 May.

In 2017, the luxury market growth engine was largely driven by the millennial generation, representing 85% of all consumers globally. This generational shift has propelled the way luxury brands redefine their delivery of their overall customer user experience which needs to be increasingly immersive to engage this highly mobile and social media-centric clientele. The e-commerce sales of the luxury brands, driven by a growing digitally-savvy population, also continues to increase by 24%, with Asia and Europe showing particularly strong growth2.

Centred on innovation as its overarching theme, this conference will initiate discussions on how luxury brands today can effectively digitalise, engage and evolve with the younger generation of global luxury seekers. As Asia continues to grow and lead global economic growth3, luxury brands will need to turn to new technologies to derive greater consumer analytics and insights to better customise and target their business strategies.

Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, President of Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), said, "Companies need to continually plug into the evolving digital world to seek innovative ways to connect with the new generation of digitally-savvy consumers. This is relevant even in the luxury brand market, one in which Singapore's SMEs can gain an advantage through digital transformation. SUSS plays a forward-looking role, through our strong tech-enabled applied education, in supporting our workforce and businesses to acquire new digital knowledge and build their capabilities to stay competitive and succeed in a fast changing business landscape. As a pioneer in online education, SUSS itself utilises emerging solutions to better engage and develop our students, and foster a strong spirit of innovation within our learning environment."

Professor Ian Phau, the Head of the School of Marketing at Curtin University, said the conference will bring together industry professionals and academics from 14 countries and 44 universities. "While global brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Hermes continue to dominate the luxury brands market, the rise of affordable and bespoke luxury brands has blurred the definition of luxury products and is changing the face of the industry as we know it. This conference, which is now in its third year, aims to explore the evolution of luxury brands and shed light on the potential innovations that will ensure luxury brands remain relevant in the digital age by bridging the link between industry and the academic world."

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Notes to Editor:

The Mystique of Luxury Brands Conference 2018 Conference Agenda

Venue: Ballroom 2, Level 2, Sheraton Towers, Singapore


DAY 1 (8 May 2018)




9.00am


Registration




10.00am


Welcome Address by Professor Cheong Hee Kiat,



President, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS)




10.05am


Opening Address by Professor Nigel de Bussy,



Pro Vice-Chancellor, Curtin University Faculty of Business and Law




10.10am


Address by Guest-of-Honour, Ms Low Yen Ling,



Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower




10.15am


Keynote presentation by Mr Luke Lim,



Louken Group Founder and Chief Executive Officer




11.15am


Coffee break




11.30am


Panel discussion 1:



High Fashion, Watches and All Things Bling: Trends and Digitisation for



Luxury Brand Consumption



·  Redefining luxury in the contemporary luxury market



·  Breaking into the luxury market



·  Balancing luxury online and offline strategies




12.30pm


Lunch break




1.30pm


Panel discussion 2:



Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Luxury Branding Industry



·  Luxury consumption: Guilt factor versus social champion



·  Being socially engaging but not market accessible: The luxury brand



management dilemma



·  Luxury brands making business sense with corporate social responsibility



·  Strategies that luxury brands could play to champion rights for the environment



and society




2.30pm


Panel discussion 3:



Luxury Lifestyles: An Asia-Pacific Perspective



·  Defining the Asia-Pacific luxury lifestyle consumer



·  The luxury lifestyle experience: products that make the experience



  ·  The future: how can luxury lifestyle brands sustain?

  3.30pm Closing






 4.00pm


Coffee Break cum Networking

 5.00pm


Day 1 concludes




Day 2 (9 May 2018)

Day 2 of the conference will focus on thought-provoking academic sessions involving 44 universities and 14 countries exploring themes such as:

 

·        luxury brand management

·        luxury brands in the digital age

·        authenticity versus counterfeiting in the luxury industry

·        luxury brands and sustainability

·        premium brands

·        luxury retail management

·        luxury cosmetics

·        fashion marketing

·        luxury brand extensions

·        global challenges for luxury brands

·        beauty and luxury brands

·        luxury food consumption

About Singapore University of Social Sciences

Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) is one of Singapore's six autonomous universities and its mission is to provide lifelong education that equips learners to serve society. Home to more than 15,000 students, SUSS provides an applied education that targets both fresh school leavers and adult learners, with a focus on the social sciences. It adopts a flexible and practice-focused learning approach and offers more than 70 degree programmes in various disciplines. Eligible students taking SUSS's undergraduate programmes enjoy government subsidies and access to government bursaries, tuition fee loans and study loans. For more information on Singapore University of Social Sciences, please visit www.suss.edu.sg.

About Curtin University

Curtin University is Western Australia's largest university, with more than 56,000 students. Of these, over 14,000 are international students. The University's main campus is in Bentley near the Perth CBD. Curtin has five other campuses across WA, Malaysia, Singapore and Dubai. Curtin also has a presence at a number of other global locations.

Curtin celebrated '50 Years of Innovation' in 2017 – the combined history of the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), which opened its doors to students in 1967 and Curtin University, which opened in 1987.

Today, Curtin is estimated to be ranked 180th and in the top one per cent of universities worldwide, and 9th in Australia in the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2017 (ARWU), and features highly in a number of other key world rankings.

The University has built a reputation around innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, being at the forefront of many high-profile research projects in astronomy, biosciences, economics, mining and information technology. It is also recognised globally for its strong connections with industry, and for its commitment to preparing students for jobs of the future.

For further information visit curtin.edu.au.

For Speaker Profiles, please view: https://photos.prnasia.com/prnk/20180507/2125563-1

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