IFTM students get hands-on supporting SME development
A group of students from the Tourism Business Management program of the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) has engaged in assisting a local jewelry brand to conduct market research and develop a business model, according to IFTM.
The project was part of the group’s entrepreneurship course led by the course lecturer Dr. Fernando Lourenço, intending to provide hands-on training to students in activities that support local businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The project was undertaken in collaboration with a local jewelry brand – Cloé Jewelry & Art – and comprised several business development aspects, including market research and the development of a marketing mix.
The brand was founded by Macau jewelry designer and entrepreneur, Chloe Chan, and has already developed a local market for its products and services since its establishment in 2015.
The brand has recently started a concept store in the heart of Macau’s business district, where, in addition to selling jewelry products and design services, it also runs workshops and a café.
The students’ project is grounded in the future development of the Cloé Concept Store, which includes two main goals: to drive more local traffic to the new concept store, and to expand its existing market by entering overseas markets.
IFTM students conducted industry analysis to explore both international and Chinese jewelry brands as well as top independent (smaller) brands, studying their marketing mix and business models.
An investigation of the general and Chinese luxury consumer markets was also conducted via an academic literature review of journal articles covering “luxury consumers” from the general market and the Chinese market.
The project resulted in a final proposal of the setting of the marketing mix as well as articulating their idea using the Lean Business Model Canvas – a business modeling tool – to meet the goals of Cloé Jewelry & Art.
This brand is also part of a consignment operation model housed at the recently inaugurated physical and online retail platform at IFTM called “iRetail Lab,” which aims to support local entrepreneurs and creative artists while allowing students to experiment in a real context and apply their theories to practice.
