In an interview with WorldTempus, CEO and President of Cartier International Cyrille Vigneron talks of Cartier this past year and a possible step into the Metaverse for the famous jewelry brand.
When asked to explain how Cartier has done so well this last year despite the pandemic, Vigneron said, "They reflect our strategy over the past five years, rather than of any particular year. The repositioning that we have carried out on the product range, on the organization, on the network, on the boutiques, on the entire business, has generated very strong desirability across all generations that the Maison did not have five years ago. The pandemic was a very powerful accelerating and differentiating factor: the stronger the brands, the more they grew, in watchmaking just as in fashion. This crisis was an eye-opener. Cartier was in demand among all categories of customer in all countries because they no longer traveled, thereby generating domestic growth, Europeans included. Cartier showed the strength of its relationship with its clientele, not only in terms of travel and not only because of price differences. The positions we have adopted have paid off. In watchmaking, the more we have focused on distinctive and durable collections, the more successful they have been. It turns out that distinction is more important than novelty, but it has to be both distinguished and distinctive. It thus became the systematic approach, leading us to relaunch the Santos, the Baignoire and the Pasha, which are continuing to grow. The Santos is now the second best-selling line behind Ballon Bleu, while all lines are making a strong comeback, with the gap between them closing."
When asked if Cartier could potentially find its way into the Metaverse, Vigneron said, "The Metaverse is a complementary virtual world, which can also be likened to playing at not being yourself, which already exists: it's called carnival. Humans have long enjoyed pretending to be someone different, so it's not a revolution. When I was a teenager, I read The Lord of the Rings and we played Dungeons and Dragons: we were already enjoying escapist-style entertainment, so let's see in ten years what it becomes. As far as NFTs are concerned, this results in purely virtual luxury products… Why not? Yet our main job is to make tangible products for intangible feelings. I feel the watch on my wrist, like a ring or a bracelet, gifted for a memorable date, I prefer to feel it against my skin rather than displaying something on a computer. If I go home with a bouquet of flowers, it will give more pleasure than if I offer a QR code with the symbolic value of NFTs, it's not the same thing."
Information originally sourced from WorldTempus.
