Has Audemars Piguet increased production?
I said that in 2015, when we reach 40,000 watches, we stick to that for
five years. And we have not moved.
What we have been doing as a choice, to limit production, has
paid off. It is paying off every day. People respect us because we
are not chasing volume. How we can manage to increase revenue
is because we shift our business from being a wholesaler to being a
retail business. We are shifting more and more business to our stores.
Every day I bring watches from a multi-brand retailer to our own stores
we are increasing revenue – without increasing quantity. I am also
increasing the quality of the perception of the brand.
You will continue to reduce your use of retailers?
In three to five years we will have fewer retail partners than we have
today. But, the best partners we have will be very happy. I am not
saying we will have zero partners, I am saying we will have some
partners, and those that stay will be very happy.
The consolidation we are all seeing in the retail world is not only
for Audemars Piguet, but also in the food and beverage industry, the
car industry…anything. The end consumer doesn’t want to have more
people between them and the people who make the product. They
want to shrink the number of people in between.
That’s not us saying this, that is the end consumer. They trust that
the brand is always better. And that is something you see everywhere,
every day, all over the world. Any multi-brand retailer that isn’t doing
better than his competition right now will have some real issues to
stay alive.
Back view of the Royal Oak RD#2 Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin
Vasken Chokarian is director of iW Middle East
Inside the Audemars Piguet workshops
Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph--new in 2018.
WINTER 2019 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 55