Watches of Switzerland: Cartier’s Distribution Strategy

This is a snippet of the transcript.Contact Salesto get full access.

As you consider the company's corporate strategy, does this shift mean reducing smaller, mom-and-pop wholesale partners? Or do you believe Watches of Switzerland Group is vulnerable as big brands aim to go more direct?

That's a very good question. Based on my experience at Cartier, particularly with the smaller shops, when I joined Cartier, my team informed me that in the year prior to my joining, they had cut at least 100 small distribution points. These were very small distribution points. Historically, brands like Cartier would hand over a little bit of product and inventory to every distributor, especially in the US. Initially, Cartier had almost 300 different partners of various sizes. They reduced this number to 150, and during my tenure, it went down to around 100.

This is a snippet of the transcript.Contact Salesto get full access.

As you consider the company's corporate strategy, does this shift mean reducing smaller, mom-and-pop wholesale partners? Or do you believe Watches of Switzerland Group is vulnerable as big brands aim to go more direct?

Within these 100, there's a significant difference between top partners like Watches of Switzerland and Bucherer, and everyone else. To answer your question, while I can't predict the future, I don't foresee any short-term risks of dropping partners like Watches of Switzerland for a brand like Cartier. The wholesale business in Cartier, within the Richemont Group, accounted for about 10% to 15%, making it a very relevant part of the business.

This is a snippet of the transcript.Contact Salesto get full access.