With annual revenue of over 1.2 trillion USD, the fashion industry is ranked as the fourth-largest in the World by Bloomberg Businessweek. But the question here is what Bachelor’s degree holders can do to pursue jobs in the Fashion Industry. Out of the various options available, we will talk about the MBA in Fashion or Luxury Brand Management. Europe and North America are the leaders in this field, with some of the top Fashion Management Colleges based there. Hence, planning for GMAT will be the right choice for the students to study management programs in Fashion. Due to COVID-19, the Online Home-based Test version of the exam is made available till 31st December 2020. Aspirants can plan to schedule GMAT 24 hours before, according to the availability of slots.
The MBA in Fashion or Luxury Brand management aims to train students about the various terms and theories about the Fashion Industry and apply them in their jobs later on. The Courses are offered as full-time mode spanning between 1-2 years. Some of the important topics that the course may include are:
- Marketing Luxury Brands
- Developing and Managing Luxury Retail
- Design and marketing of Luxury Goods
- Managing a watch brand
- Managing a Jewelry brand
- Luxury Brand Consumer behavior
- Retail marketing
- Retail Store layout and design
- Social media and consumer engagement
- Luxury brand finance
Graduate Management Admission Test is one of the widely accepted exams for admission into the topmost B-Schools in the World. Colleges like NYU Stern (New York), ESSEC (Paris), SDA Bocconi (Milan), and University of the Arts London accept GMAT scores to study MBA in Fashion and Luxury Brand Management. In India – CAT, XAT, SNAP, and others are the most popular exams. But, GMAT is the most sought after the exam to study management courses Fashion and Luxury Brand Management.
The following details of the exam which can be useful for an aspirant applying it.
| Test Name | GMAT |
| Conducting Body | Graduate Management Admission Council |
| Duration | 3 hours 7 minutes |
| Score Range | 200 to 800 |
| Language | English |
| Annual Number of test-takers | 200,000+ |
| Fee | $250, GMAT Online Test is available at $ 200 |
| Score Validity | 5 years |
| Areas Covered | Analytical Writing Assessment, Integrated Reasoning, Quantitative, Verbal |
| Registration Website | gmac.com |
The GMAT exam is of 3 hours and 7 minutes. It covers sections, including Quantitative, Verbal, and Reasoning. It also includes an essay paper for 30 minutes. Final scores of the test-taker can range between 200 and 800, and scores are given with an increment of 10, i.e., 440, 450, 460, and so on.
| Section | Duration in minutes | Number of questions |
| Analytical writing assessment | 30 | 1 essay |
| Integrated reasoning | 30 | 12 |
| Quantitative | 62 | 31 |
| Verbal | 65 | 36 |
To register for the GMAT Exam, an aspirant need to follow the below-mentioned steps:-
- Register for the GMAT Online Test from the official website.
- For Scheduling the Exam, appointments need to be made at the designated test center.
- It can be taken multiple times but with the following restrictions:
- Not more than once within 16 days.
- Not more than 5 times in a rolling 12 month period.
- Not more than 8 times in Total.
- The score card is valid for 5 years.
Preparing for GMAT is not rocket science. All one needs to do is to keep their eyes open and look for the relevant materials. The following steps can be taken for better preparation for the Exam.
- Download the study materials from https://www.mba.com/.
- There are various online study portals, you can get information from there.
- Start preparing in advance and take Mock Tests during the final hours before the exam.
- Look at previous question papers and question trends that may help you understand the difficulty level.
The Fashion Industry is making rapid strides today. According to the latest reports, Europe is the World’s largest importer of Apparels & Textile. This accounts for 23% of the World’s imports. The USA, too, imports approximately $80 billion of clothing and other items. While China, Bangladesh, India, and Turkey are some of the largest exporters.
GMAT is a Globally Recognized Management Entrance Exam that will open the doors to experience the best education in the field of Fashion Management. Students will learn the current Fashion Trends and Markets from the Global perspective. They can work abroad and can even return to their homeland to pursue lucrative jobs.
An MBA in Fashion and Luxury Brand Management will also train students to be future Entrepreneurs and launch their own brands. Countries like Italy, France, the UK, the US, and Singapore boats of some of the top Management Colleges in the World. Milan, Paris, New York, and London are the Fashion Capitals of the World. It will be a wise decision to attempt GMAT and get a degree from some of the prestigious colleges abroad accordingly.
According to Glassdoor, the average post-MBA salary for a senior luxury brand manager in the US is around US$133,000, while the post-MBA salary of a marketing manager is around US$120,000. A Buyer in France can earn €47,740 an average Some of the top recruiters worldwide are – LVMH
- Burberry
- Gucci
- Nike
- Adidas
- Kate Spade
- Gap
- L’Oréal
It can be clearly stated that the Fashion Industry is quite lucrative all over the World, especially in Europe and the USA. GMAT can help you book spot in some of the top MBA colleges offering Fashion Management courses. Therefore, plan accordingly.
By Shivani Tiwari