12 Oct, 2019
Talking Watches, brand performance and current retail challenges with Alexander Schmiedt, Regional Brand Director Middle East & Sub-Continent, Vacheron Constantin.
• Earlier this year you have opened a boutique in Riyadh and an extension of the UAE boutique - Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates. Hence, two boutiques in one year with further enhancement to the retail network is quite a lot of investment on the brand. Can you elaborate on your future expansion plans for the region?
We are actually continuing what we have been doing for the past 3 years. You can summarize Vacheron Constantin as a Maison for connoisseurs and an exclusive brand. This exclusivity is what we actually translate into everything we do, be it marketing or product, as well as the way we offer our brand experience. Our strategy is based on ‘less is more’, we have accordingly always focused on fewer points of sale with better quality of service and a more satisfying customer experience. What you see today is a strategic shift from the multi-brand distribution set-up to a truly mono-brand experience. We have two boutiques in UAE, at Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates, and five partnered outlets in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon and in Bahrain as well. We emphasize on an exclusive customer experience that will be no different whether you are walking into a boutique in Tokyo, Dubai, Riyadh or anywhere else in the world for that matter. We are investing significantly on this new concept in Dubai and Riyadh, bringing our retail experience to the level that relates to our Maison’s image.
• With what is going around the region in terms of economic challenges, do you feel your plans are optimistic or realistic?
We took a long-term perspective of our entire business, and not just in the Middle East. We started investing in the region three years ago with a significant brand presence in mind for our global product. You cannot do this for just one year and stop, so definitely it is something we will continue doing. We are clearly getting the fruits of our labor as the brand is well established and has a very strong visibility over the last three years. While we have significantly gained from the growing tourist inflow into the region, our primary focus is to improve the local market share by developing a core loyal, local customer clientele. In this regard, I believe our plans are realistic and positive, economic fluctuations notwithstanding. We, as a professional organization, would never go over-optimistic. So far, we have well managed the situation, met all the objectives and in fact, even outgrown some. We have big projects lined up in the region in Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the GCC region.
• What is the growth potential that Vacheron Constantin is expecting from this region? What are the areas, which have not been covered yet? And what are the opportunities that you think the Middle East will hold for your brand?
The potential is clearly there though not in terms of volume sales. Vacheron Constantin is not a volume brand, so for us the potential is in terms of value and worth. Put in simpler terms, it means a fewer number of boutiques with the best brand quality experience for our clients. Our aim is to provide interesting products, gain valued customers and we are in a unique position for that. If you look at the region, we are already very strong and well established in Dubai, we have a strong presence in Kuwait and are significantly growing all around the region. I would say that one major market we look at in the next few years is Saudi Arabia. We just opened a new boutique in Riyadh, and we believe the Kingdom holds great potential for us in the years to come.
• Obviously, with such growth possibilities there ought to be possible challenges too. What are the present challenges for a brand like Vacheron Constantin?
When you look at what we have done these past few years, I think we managed the challenges quite well. Vacheron Constantin has a long heritage in the Middle East, but until recently, our image was traditional and historic. Yes, we do have a heritage of 264 years, which is no small thing, but it is not about being old nor old fashioned. Having such a heritage allows you to do things others cannot and it may be something that is both very traditional and extremely modern at the same time. We feel one can be rejuvenated without changing the DNA and have been trying to do so for the past few years by staying with our existing customers and bringing in the new generation. Popularity with the masses has never been our objective. As said previously, Vacheron Constantin is not a volume brand; we do not want everybody to have a Vacheron Constantin. We want the real connoisseurs to appreciate and acquire the brand, and you do have many of them in the Middle East. This is clearly one segment of clients that we have been working on and we really see them coming back to the product lines that we have launched: Overseas, Fiftytsix, Historiques... They are exactly the products that were pre-sold in the market and the buyers include some who were new to the brand. A significant segment that we are yet to concentrate, but has always been part of the DNA of Vacheron Constantin, is women. We are aware that the Middle East is a very important market for women, not only for jewellery but watches as well. It is a segment that we have not tapped yet, only because we believe in doing one thing at a time. We have been fostering and rejuvenating the brand, focusing on men over the last few years, and soon you will find us serving women with the same spirit and commitment, bringing them exclusive offerings with true value. I believe this will be a major stride in Vacheron Constantin’s journey to greater success.
• We would like to know what Vacheron Constantin approach to e-commerce is.
Today you do not have offline customers and online customers anymore. You have a customer who decides where he wants to interact with the brand. I believe people continue to patronize Vacheron Constantin because they perceive it as an investment. In the future I think we have to give our clients the choice to experience our brand in a consistent high quality in all channels, be it a Boutique or a partner store – or online. However, there will be no specific strategy for the Middle East in this regard. It will fall within the global strategy of the brand and it shall be embedded in the global strategy of Richemont Group.
