To stay ahead, you sometimes have to change direction. Such agility, you would imagine, would be second nature to a 155-year-old watch company that also happens to be the biggest brand within French luxury group LVMH. It’s a notion that Tag Heuer’s global sales vice-president Philippe Alluard reinforces during his recent interview with The Peak.
“We have no sacred cows,” says the French-American executive, who is both friendly and disarmingly frank. He is referring not just to Tag Heuer’s industry-disrupting innovations such as its belt-driven Monaco V4 timepieces, but to the brand’s recent strategic repositioning. The new direction will see Tag Heuer – which has an estimated annual turnover of one billion euros (S$1.6 billion) – focusing on its mid-range offerings and slowing its shift towards the higher end of the market.
The brand is “still growing”, notes Alluard, but “not at the rate we had been growing before”. He adds: “Traditionally and for many years, Tag Heuer has been the epitome of access to selective Swiss watchmaking. In the last five years, we strayed a little from that segment. We were heavily promoting our manufacture movements at higher price levels, and we lost part of that customer base. We want to regain this territory, and also be that sporty, nice-looking watch for the affluent person who wants to go to the beach or on a motorcycle ride on the weekend.”
But make no mistake: Its renewed focus on its more affordably priced pieces does not mean that one should stop expecting game-changing horological surprises from the brand, which unveiled cutting-edge watches such as the Tag Heuer Carrera Mikropendulum Tourbillon at special events in Singapore last November.
Read the full story at The Peak.
