Jaeger-LeCoultre AMVOX1 (191697)

WORLDTEMPUS - 4 May 2010

The exclusive conference reserved for the CEOs of the Fondation Haute Horlogerie's partner brands, the FHH's steering committee members, and no more than a handful of hand-picked press representatives was held on Thursday, April 29.

Opening the day with a bang, FHH chairman Franco Cologni admonished his audience to express, "More boldness, less arrogance." With this, he was referring to the years previous to the economic crash that began in the fall of 2008. Without a doubt, it was this humbling "crisis" that has taught the luxury watch industry most of what it should know to be able to continue stably, a point saliently brought home by journalist Nick Foulkes's talk on creativity and design: good taste, ability to create desire, and—above all—less zeal for growth should be the now-adjusted, targeted goals.
This afternoon talk jibed well with what the experts of the much-anticipated morning sessions had to say. Former president of France Valery Giscard d'Estaing started out by promising the audience that the "age of discoveries" was far from over—referring in particular to energy—and that "authentic luxury is based on culture." Indeed, he said, it is part of a "cultural cycle" that is "related to cultural fabric" and "imagination in society."
What is "lacking in our society," he congenially explained, "is time for time."
After Dr. Thomas Mao, founder of ThePurists.com, explained the difference between a collector and an enthusiast—a distinction apparently not clearly understood by every expert marketer in the room as evidenced by the interesting discussions occurring in the coffee and lunch breaks—bestselling author Paolo Coelho reiterated Giscard d'Estaing's sentiments in his signature thought-provoking way. "Luxury for me is fun: if you have time and fun, you have luxury," he explained. "You have to reflect your soul—that is what your customer will see. You have to create a bridge between culture and luxury, and connect to the soul of the world."

The bold and inspiring words of the morning—which included professional talks given by the author of Luxe Oblige Vincent Bastien and Julius Bär board member Remy Bersier, who explained that the crisis could be seen as over—dissipated into the non-transparency of business as usual in the high-end watch industry in the afternoon. A muted Jean-Claude Biver "hypothetically" discussed the coming movement shortage with Henry-John Belmont, former CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre without saying much at all.
Distribution—currently a hot topic in the watch industry—was not very heatedly discussed by four well-known industry figures each practicing varying distribution strategies. François-Paul Journe expressed his need for a mixed concept to ensure success (traditional retailers as well as monobrand boutiques, but no Internet outlets), while Laurent Picciotto of Paris's Chronopassion sees his traditional retailer role as "being an ambassador for the brands." IWC CEO Georges Kern revealed that his popular marque is currently testing e-commerce in Central Europe, and Patrick Frischknecht, CEO of Swiss retail chain Les Ambassadeurs, finds that sales via e-mail can be considered "low-tech e-commerce, which we have been doing for years."
"It's a business based on confidence and trust," Picciotto passionately explained. "If a customer wants a relationship including the right to having questions answered and additional expert information, he or she will have to pay the price we charge for the object in question."
Almost as if they feared divulging secrets, the four revealed little else on the subject of Internet distribution—which was engagingly discussed by the next speaker: Frank Vivier, Richemont's group director for e-business and projects, who gave the audience his unfiltered opinion: the industry needs "a paradigm shift," as it is currently guided by a "lost generation of brand builders." He also explained that social media should now be grouped and strategized together with traditional forms of media. "In the U.S., one out of two watches sold through authorized channels in the last three years began with an Internet search….Digital and brick: it's all the same to the new generation!".

The final speaker, photographer Oliviero Toscani, made perhaps the biggest impression on the audience with his bold and novel ideas as they could be applied to the world of luxury wristwatches. "Listen to the market and do the opposite," he explained against a backdrop of alternating disturbing images. "Communication is the highest form of art. Have no fear of creativity."
Our industry took a day to "rethink," but will it actually do so? That remains to be doubted.