The Design and Marketing of Luxury Goods — maybe it’s time to go back to school:

Cartier, the French-founded luxury company, boasts a centurylong history in the U.S., something few American-born brands can say. Sure it has soaked up some glory with its 100th birthday celebration this year, but the company’s attention seems fixed on the future: It participated in a program that had business- and design-school students evaluate the jeweler and make suggestions to court a new generation of customers. Christian Dior, Hermes, Lalique, Louis Vuitton and sunglass maker Luxottica also participated in “The Design and Marketing of Luxury Goods,” a joint interdisciplinary course at Columbia Business School and Parsons The New School for Design. Students had access to top company executives, scoped out the competition and rated the overall customer experience. – from AP