Students Network at Dior and Victoria's Secret on NY Beauty Study Tour
Under the direction and supervision of Beauty Department Chair Lyn Tobman and Director Tina Perez, students in the third year Advanced Study Beauty Industry Management Program visited top beauty companies recently on the New York Beauty Study Tour.
“The NY Study Tour was incredibly immersive—we met with brands that specialize in a wide variety of beauty categories, like Fresh, Victoria’s Secret, Philosophy, Intercos, Dior Beauty, and Givaudan,” said student Brigitte Streeter who is currently interning at GLAMGLOW while working on her Bachelor’s degree.
Student Sherie Oh had a particularly successful meeting at Dior which has led to an internship in their NY office working for Miranda Pursche, the VP of Retail Development who is also a FIDM Beauty Program alumna.
Each day was fully booked with appointments in the city. The students would meet each morning in the seven o’clock hour in the lobby of their hotel, and go from meeting to meeting all day long for four straight days.
“My director [Tina Perez] taught me to get out there and be known, push your name out into the industry and network as much as you can and take every opportunity that is presented to you,” said alumna Keana Hoard who was just hired at Petite ‘n Pretty, a new beauty brand that launched this summer in Los Angeles.
Mark Knitowski, the Senior VP of Product Innovation at Victoria’s Secret, gave the students a presentation on merchandising, e-commerce, product assortment, and relevancy for the VS brands.
“They did a great job of looking at the businesses through a more youthful, trendy lens which provided opinions that weren’t so close in but relevant, “ said Mark. “Their ideas of how to evolve to connect with the customer now was compelling with many good insights. What I liked the most was the dialogue when I asked questions around the why and the how? They had answers, and good ones at that. They related to how the brand stays true to itself while connecting on a different level based on the different customer needs. I learned as much from them, as hopefully they did from me.”
When asked if he would potentially hire a graduate of our Beauty Industry Management Program, he said, “Yes, I feel they are well versed in understanding how to approach the subject matter; they are highly energized and very passionate. Passion and energy is where it all starts; if you don’t love what you are doing, you are not going to do it well, or long.”
Brigitte said, “My career goal is to work for Intercos, a cosmetic manufacturer and leader in innovation. I would love to be responsible for forecasting the cosmetic and skincare trends that influence the industry for years to come.”
Categories: Beauty Business Management Beauty Marketing & Product Development Study Tour
