In this semester long project, my team worked together to develop and led a strategic brand expansion meeting for a publicly traded fashion company. We proposed that Hermès expands into Lagos, Nigeria by opening a brick-and-mortar retail store, while exploring executive-level decision making dynamics.
Final Project Outcome
The artifact I am submitting is the final slide deck for our brand expansion meeting which we used to support our meeting to executive stakeholders.
What I did
Throughout the semester I worked with my team to develop a gantt chart, meeting memos, and the development of geographic factors, SWOT analysis, and a sourcing calendar. I participated in role-playing as both a meeting leader as well as Chief Marketing Officer for another team. I helped create our slide deck while ensuring that we used on brand visuals, images, charts, and data in order to summarize our final recommendations for our expansion. During the meeting I presented my findings, defended our choices, and have to adapt to on the spot questions by executives.
What I learned
This project taught me about strategic decision making inside of the global fashion economy as well as how organizations make decisions with cross departmental executives. I gained experience in leading meetings, communicating quickly and clearly, persuasion, and adjusting based on feedback. The role-playing style of the meetings especially helps improve confidence in stressful and high stake situations, giving me the skills to critically think under pressure.
What’s next for me
I plan to continue building my skills in my future career in bridal sales which is a very strategic and client focused field. The research, market analysis, geographic factors, and SWOT will help me when considering brand expansions for my boutique. The meeting simulation style will also help when presenting ideas on how to expand to my boss. Overall the Hermès expansion project helped prepare me for situations when I will need to communicate professionally, handle client objections, and make recommendations in the bridal industry.
