The 2019 Study Tour for the International Master In Luxury Management took place last autumn at the château of the prestigious Champagne producer Krug (LVMH group), who is a NEOMA partner.
Mylène Soulas, the château tour manager, greeted the programme’s 55 students at the château with a tasting of a Krug Grande Cuvée. The students then went to the cellar for an informative talk on the conservation practices of this premier brand Champagne.
The key moment in the visit was the Collection Cellar where Krug has a reserve of very old vintages, with some bottles dating back to 1915 that can still be enjoyed!

Margareth Henriquez, president and managing director of Krug since 2008, then showed them the dramatic turnaround of the Krug brand. In fact, after several years of work, Ms. Henriquez revitalised the 176-year-old brand and helped it grow by rediscovering the house’s heritage, which would not have been possible without the support of LVMH group.
During the presentation, the students were given another important message about brand storytelling. Maison Krug, which based its communication around music, succeeded in building a solid brand identity, and today the name Krug is closely linked with the music world.
Finally, the students were quite impressed by Krug’s commitment to gender equality with, for example, three of its six oenologists (an important position in any champagne house) being women.

The Study Tour ended with a tasting put together to delight both the palate and the ears. The students were invited to taste two exceptional champagne vintages while listen to Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5.

>Learn more about the International Master in Luxury Management at NEOMA Business School