NEOMA Business School partners with Fauchon and L’Oréal to launch a Bachelor in Management of Services and thereby redesigns its ECAL programme in distribution

Published on 15 January 2021 by Dominique

The Bachelor in Management of Services will be offered from the 2021 academic year on the Rouen campus. This new 3-year programme aims to train managers in French-style excellence and expertise, in partnership with iconic brands, world leaders in their field. It will be offered in four specific pathways: ‘Distribution’ based on the former ECAL course at NEOMA, ‘Gastronomy’ in partnership with the ECOLE FAUCHON, ‘Hair and Beauty’ in partnership with L’Oréal, and ‘Hospitality’ which will start in the 2022 academic year.

A course combining management, entrepreneurship, the digital world and professions of expertise

“Management training is the central mission of NEOMA,” explains Delphine Manceau, Dean of NEOMA. “Now we are putting all our expertise at the service of four sectors of excellence undergoing major change.” The positioning of this new programme is constructed around French know-how and the spirit of enterprise, in sectors which are the jewels of our economy: distribution, the food professions, hair and beauty, and hospitality.

Four pathways: Distribution, Gastronomy, Hair and Beauty and Hospitality

The Bachelor in Management of Services will be structured around the basics of management and entrepreneurship. The emphasis will be on digital innovation applied to services and to the customer experience. Throughout the teaching there will be hands-on learning in the techniques of expertise in these professions of excellence.

The pathway devoted to Distribution will be based on the expertise acquired by NEOMA in its ECAL programme, renowned in the mass distribution sector and revisited in depth in this new Bachelor course. It will be constructed around several approaches now revolutionising this sector: the combination of physical and digital channels, data management, services and customer experience, the major expectations of consumers on societal and environmental issues… “With the new Ec@l, we have a clear ambition: to reinforce our expertise in the distribution sector and train the talent that will be able to turn current changes into real growth opportunities for their brands,” enthuses Michel-Edouard Leclerc, President of NEOMA Business School. “This programme is the School for new distribution and services.”

The pathway devoted to Gastronomy will be managed in partnership with the ECOLE FAUCHON, the iconic brand of the French culinary arts. It will aim to develop technical, managerial and entrepreneurship skills around the culinary arts and is intended for young bachelor students hoping for a career in catering and gastronomy. “Fauchon represents prestige, and NEOMA excellence,” says Kamel Mebarki, CEO of the ECOLE FAUCHON. “Through this unique partnership, we will train students in the food and service professions, combining theoretical and practical skills, providing a real springboard to employment.”

The pathway devoted to Hair and Beauty will be run with the ‘REAL Campus by L’Oréal’ School. It will train the students of the future in the transformation of the hair and beauty professions and will put the customer experience at the heart of the training. “We aim to offer young talent in hair and beauty all the tools they need to innovate and rethink the customer experience to meet the new expectations of consumers looking for a unique experience,” explains Nathalie Roos, Head of the Professional Products division of L’Oréal and an administrator and graduate of NEOMA.

The pathway devoted to Hospitality will operate from the start of the 2022 academic year. It will aim to train managers in the hospitality sector and will offer deep immersion into all aspects of the sector.

Work experience and innovative teaching to enhance the learning experience

This new Bachelor in Management of Services will be based on state-of-the-art technologies which NEOMA, a pioneer in the field of teaching innovation, deploys in its courses. “Students will have access to our virtual campus and will be introduced to Virtual Reality, for example through the case of Leclerc Drive in the area of logistics for the ECAL pathway on distribution,” highlights Delphine Manceau.

Work experience will also occupy a prominent place in the course, where academic excellence goes hand in hand with professionalization. And finally, as the partners in this programme share the same values of entrepreneurship as NEOMA, an incubator will be open to the students on the course in order to encourage the creation and acceleration of businesses in these sectors. Thanks to a cross-fertilisation of profiles and skills, it will enable innovation and value-creation in these professions of excellence in French craft skills.

 “Whether in distribution, gastronomy, hair and beauty, or hospitality, our students will be able to access the best teaching,” concludes Delphine Manceau. “In creating this Bachelor in Management of Services, NEOMA is making its contribution to the relaunch of the French economy in professions which have been severely impacted by the health crisis. We therefore hope to create a programme to reinforce the spirit of entrepreneurship in areas of French excellence, combining innovation and expertise, and which will be very attractive to the younger generation, offering them a complete training package, put together in partnership with renowned companies.”