Philippe Charriol is the President of the Philippe Charriol Group, he first succeeded in japan and south east Asia rather than Europe so he really understands these particular markets, in the next interview he talks about an emerging market of great potentialfor luxury watches, Vietnam.
When did you first come here (Vietnam)?
Philippe Charriol: I first came here in 1973 and 1974 during the war.
It was quite an extraordinary experience.
I was just a young businessman.
I didn’t do any business here, but I had a good time.
I came here again more than 10 years ago to visit a friend from Hong Kong who opened a restaurant here.
Then I felt the time was coming for better merchandise and we found a distributor and opened our first store here in 2005.
Since then, many brands have started to come but it is still an emerging territory compared to some countries around it.
But don’t worry.
It will come very fast.
It is like a plague.
It will come all at once.
[There will be] French, Italian and Swiss brands – Swiss for the watches and jewelry.
What is special about watches?
For many years, having a watch on your wrist was very important.
It showed you the time.
Today, it is less and less important.
First, everybody has a watch – cheap or expensive.
Second, everybody has things like computers or cell phones and the time appears everywhere and it is extremely accurate.
Today, the object by itself – in its shape – is more important than giving the time.
The trend is changing and whether for men or ladies, we are talking here about better merchandise, not basic merchandise.
We are talking about elegance and luxury watches, if you want.
It’s where brands are very important.
Why did you target the Asian market when you first started Charriol?
It was easier for me to invest in smaller countries and territories like Hong Kong and Singapore than in major territories.
Smaller countries react faster than big countries.
If you are a distributor in Japan or the States, you have to plan.
But in places like Singapore, it happens [quickly].
I was also accepted in the Middle East where the countries are small but they are very important buyers.
Everyone is rich.
But it’s not because they are wealthy that they buy.
If they don’t like, they won’t buy.
I was very lucky.
In the 80s, gold color was very popular.
At that time, I came into the market with [gold].
So people, especially in the Middle East, became crazy with this new style.
How different is doing business in Vietnam compared to other Asian [markets]?
In [markets] like Singapore and Hong Kong, most people know about us.
In this country, we have to do a lot of promotion to inform the Vietnamese that we [sell] beautiful watches, jewelry, writing instruments and eyewear.
The challenge is to be associated with the right people to do the right promotion for the brand.
Full interview: Luxury brands will come to Vietnam like the ‘plague’
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