Take us through Piaget Polo 45, which seems to be the highlight of
the year.
Piaget Polo is a historical line, covering both female and male segments. It
ranges from historical gold bracelets to leather straps. There was something
missing in this collection; it needed a sportier and a younger approach and
that could not be done on gold because sports watches are usually done on
other precious metals. We chose to do it in titanium. Elegant sports watches
go well with casual wear. We were not too strong in this segment. There was
a gap and we are trying to fill this by coming up with this new elegant sporty
watch.
Do you think the personality of Piaget matches its customers’, who are
mainly looking for manly sports watches from the Piaget stable?
A lot of people love the brand. But some of them, mainly the younger
ones, thought that it’s a great brand but were not too sure in terms of its
sporty products. But now many of these youngsters are attracted to the
brand since they have found something more casual. This watch, thanks to its
ergonomy, has a 45mm case, though it looks like a 42mm one. And for me,
this is the best achievement – to get a big watch that looks very elegant on
the wrist without looking bulky. So, it is very Piaget.
Given the fact that markets are not doing too well, what are your plans
for 2009?
We are not pessimistic. But at the same time, it would be crazy to be too
optimistic. But we think that for our clients, money is not really a problem.
Because our niche market consists of clients, who had maybe 150 million
dollars three months ago, and would now be having 80 million dollars. At
the end of the day, they do not have to change their way of life. So, we are
reasonably confident.
Do you see consumer preferences changing in this difficult time, like
people going in for long-term value?
We have two trends. I think people will go in for understated products
on one hand, and on the other, get back to the basics. The market was boiling
and buoyant five years back. Many new brands came in the market. I think it
will be difficult for them. So basically, this crisis will benefit the very established brands. It is reassuring. The market
maybe cleaned up a little bit, which is a
positive thing. It will be better for us,
I think.
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|
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International Director
of Sales and Retail
at Piaget, Edouard Cottin, in a rendezvous with
Mitrajit Bhattacharya
says recession notwithstanding,
their sales will
not suffer, courtesy
a
rich clientele |
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