"For Cartier, a diversified watch shape is very important, because the appearance design has always been the starting point of our creation, and our current works include watches of various shapes and styles." At the beginning of April, Cartier, as one of the participating brands First, appearing at the "Watches and Miracles" exhibition in Geneva after two years. Arnaud Carres, Cartier's global marketing and communications director, commented on Cartier's new watches with different styles this year in an interview. In 2022, Cartier will present a wide variety of watch works at the Geneva Watch Fair, from classic styles loved by the public to high-end jewelry watches that introduce innovative mechanisms, showing the strong vitality of the brand.
It is reported that Cartier performed extraordinary in this watch exhibition. It not only inherits the brand style, but also brings a new tribute to classic works to win the favor of the broad market. Count and win the grand prize of fine watchmaking. Arnaud Carres said: “We are first and foremost a watch brand that focuses on styling, and design should come first. We focus on the style, design and aesthetics of the watch.” Cartier Masse Mystérieuse watch
Several of the watches discussed are from Cartier's innovations, and the Masse Mystérieuse watch is particularly "mystical" and moving. This watch combines two of Cartier's iconic watchmaking elements: the mysterious movement and the hollow structure. The so-called mysterious movement is to use the transparent characteristics of sapphire crystal glass to create a visual illusion movement as if the pointer is suspended in the air. This movement has been used to create mysterious clocks for a long time since its introduction in the 1910s. In recent years, Cartier has reinterpreted this process on the wrist, showing a wonderful evening magic - mysterious hour and minute watches, mysterious tourbillon watches emerge in endlessly. , and today, this element is integrated into the oscillating weight movement.
The self-winding movement relies on a freely rotating semi-circular oscillating weight to wind the movement, but the new 9801 MC calibre breaks the convention by making the movement into a semi-circular oscillating weight, and then relying on a mysterious machine. The structure of the core keeps the movement flying in the watch. Cartier Masse Mystérieuse watch
The hands of the Masse Mystérieuse are suspended in the case and are not connected to the gears. In addition, the entire movement is suspended in the air as if weightless. All components can access the power of the movement, and the transmission and adjustment mechanism is placed in the oscillating weight. The superposition of various technologies makes this watch one of the most complex works in the production process of the Cartier watch workshop.
“At Cartier, everything starts with design. Craftsmanship should serve design, which is what our customers are looking for: a unique aesthetic and design concept. The birth of the Cartier Masse Mystérieuse broke through the double challenge of being beautiful in appearance. , and a complex movement that was so difficult to develop. This movement took eight years of research and development, and that's because it has an unprecedented level of complexity and is a step forward in our watchmaking craftsmanship. A breakthrough," said Arnaud Carres. Morgan Stanley and LuxConsult released a research report on the Swiss watch industry in 2021. The chart shows the ranking of watch brands in terms of market share in recent years.
In fact, the diversified product strategies have also made Cartier constantly usher in breakthroughs in the market performance in recent years. In a report released by Morgan Stanley in March, Cartier watch sales hit a record high in 2021, surpassing Omega and ranking second in the global watch market by turnover.
“This result proves that the strategy we implemented six years ago was very successful. We have always found a balance between innovation and classic, which is the main difference between us and other watchmakers. No other watchmaker has such a variety of watchmakers. Classic collections, while still meeting the needs of the collectors market,” said Arnaud Carres. “As this report states, we are now number two in the watch market, and there is no doubt that we will continue to work towards that goal.”
Dialogue with Arnaud Carres, Director of Global Marketing and Communications at Cartier Arnaud Carres, Global Marketing and Communications Director, Cartier
At present, affected by the new crown epidemic, many activities have been converted to online or digital mode. What impact do you think this will have on brand communications?
We have also noticed the current situation of the epidemic in China and hope that everything will improve as soon as possible.
Today, the epidemic has accelerated many of Cartier's initiatives. We have initiated digital transformation, especially in China, where digital communication has already played an indispensable role. In this unprecedented situation, we still strive to keep in touch with customers in all markets, and do not want to lose contact with customers because of the temporary closure of stores, so whether in China or other regions, our employees have invested a lot of energy, Efforts to use various channels to maintain customer relationships. This is the first point.
Another point, even though our company mainly relies on traditional brick and mortar stores, because we rely on communication between people, people need face-to-face communication, they like to discuss, they like to communicate. But at the same time, we can also feel that sales in digital channels, especially e-commerce, are growing rapidly in China and other parts of the world.
And then on to the third point, when it comes to digital communication, we should be aware that the world is dividing. We need to consider that the media environment may vary from market to market, and social platforms in China are different from those in the rest of the world. China has a very good platform to use and can do live broadcasts, which is very special. We have been taking advantage of these opportunities to connect with customers on digital platforms, and it is clear that Cartier is clearly ahead of the curve in digital transformation in China and elsewhere compared to other brands.
When it comes to connecting with consumers, how does Cartier continue to connect with the younger generation of consumers? What are the biggest challenges and corresponding solutions?
In my opinion, we have done it. After analyzing Cartier's proportion of young consumers in the global market, it is found that more than 50% of sales are contributed by millennials. In China the ratio is even higher, so we have actually built a strong connection with young consumers. Cartier has always valued a younger or more mature clientele, so it was not a new challenge for us to connect with the younger generation. We have always been committed to making Cartier a modern brand with a clear style and a modern look that appeals to a wider audience, which of course also includes the younger generation.
But we do not deliberately cater to younger customers, but engage them with unique pieces and modern communication methods, which is why we are able to achieve a high level of brand trust. Cartier’s iconic collections are often popular around the world and are suitable for many age groups, such as LOVE bracelets, Juste un Clou bracelets or Ballon Bleu watches, which are a source of pride for the younger generation to own, but also for more established customers same point of view. We don't create works specifically for the younger generation. In fact, our work has the same appeal whether it is for the younger generation or the more mature clientele.
We just talked about e-commerce and the younger generation of consumers, so we have to discuss the e-commerce situation of Cartier in the Chinese market, which was very strong last year. So, how does Cartier perform on Chinese e-commerce platforms? Will Cartier focus on online stores in the future, or will it still focus on offline stores? Will online business impact offline business?
We should not treat online channels as a separate business. Today’s customers don’t choose between offline and online. E-commerce is an integral part of the entire business ecosystem, and is inseparable from physical stores, customer relationship centers, limited-time events, and digital platforms. E-commerce can play a key role in new retail. A customer may see an item online and then buy it in a boutique, or vice versa, the two are not mutually exclusive. E-commerce provides us with another opportunity to engage with customers, our purpose is very clear, to create a seamless connected experience online and offline, especially in China, people have become accustomed to digitalization. People want to break through the shackles of business ecology and enjoy a free and seamless shopping experience.
This is our goal, to continue to eliminate pain points, remove barriers, and allow everyone, including online customers, to be unimpeded in the Cartier ecosystem. But I'd also like to stress that I don't think the growth of e-commerce will hit brick-and-mortar sales, they're complementary. As mentioned earlier, online business is another good opportunity for offline sales, and the two are closely related.