The coronavirus pandemic has hit all areas of business, including the luxury goods industry. Since March 28, all points of sale of fashionable clothes, watches, jewelry have been closed for more than two months. Many companies were forced to introduce a format for online shopping, trying to offer customers the most comfortable and safe shopping option. At the same time, the majority of brands in Russia first turned to the concept of remote sales, including the Russian representative office of the Swiss watch company TAG Heuer.
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Did the brand have an online trading channel before the epidemic? If so, what was the approximate ratio to offline sales?
Before the pandemic, TAG Heuer did not have its own distance selling channel in Russia. Some of our partners have used the watch delivery service to customers, but this practice was complementary to offline sales. According to our estimates, no more than 10% of our dealer sales went through online orders. At the same time, together with the headquarters, we have been preparing for the launch of distance sales since the end of 2019. We have signed all contracts with transport companies, worked out internal business processes for collecting orders and shipping. By the time the lockdown occurred, all the operational work related to the distance selling process had been completed at the local TAG Heuer office. The headquarters promptly made the minimum necessary changes to the site to launch the channel. In fact, we can say that there was no break in sales. Together with the lockdown, we reoriented our customers to secure delivery and remote service with an online product presentation.
Which watch models were especially popular during the epidemic? What is the price range?
Буквально накануне пандемии, 13 марта, TAG Heuer успел запустить третье поколение смарт-часов Connected Watch. Запуск сопровождался масштабной рекламной кампанией на международном и локальном уровнях. Эти часы - отличный компаньон в занятиях спортом и поддержании активного образа жизни, что оказалось невероятно актуально в период изоляции. Поэтому неудивительно, что именно эта модель стала самой востребованной во время карантина. На разные вариации Connected Watch 3 пришлась почти половина доставок в апреле-мае. Другую половину заказов составили классические часы, в основном мужские хронографы Carrera и женские часы с бриллиантами Aquaracer. Мы обратили внимание, что средняя стоимость заказов в классическом сегменте оказалась значительно выше, чем за аналогичный период 2019 года.
1 of 2 TAG Heuer Connected © Press Service TAG Heuer Connected Golf Edition © Press Service
Did you feel the delayed demand effect after the boutique opening?
Like the entire luxury market, we saw a significant influx of customers in June and July. We associate this with deferred demand, as well as the timely arrival of new products scheduled for 2020. Thanks to the new management at TAG Heuer, the watchmaking paradigm has changed dramatically. Our Russian team was introduced to all the expected launches in mid-2019, and we saw all the new items live. All communications launches were ready before the pandemic was announced. With the opening of physical retail, we were pleased to present our customers with several strategic launches at once: in the Connected line the Golf series and summer models with a blue ceramic and matt titanium bezel, in the Carrera line - new sports chronographs.
For us, 2020 is special not only because of the virus. TAG Heuer is 160 years old and we have prepared with particular care to bring new products to market. And we see the result, despite the epidemic and closings.
1 of 4 TAG Heuer Carrera Sport © TAG Heuer Monaco Press Service, Grand Prix de Monaco Historique SPECIAL EDITION © TAG Heuer Aquaracer Press Service © TAG Heuer Aquaracer Lady Press Service © Press Service
How has the ratio of traditional online / telephone sales changed today?
Despite the opening of boutiques, the distance selling channel has established itself as a separate, additional source of business. We keep the option of free shipping and try to be as flexible as possible in communication with customers. We plan to improve the quality of service in this area and hope that we can come up with a full-fledged e-commerce platform.
Has the previous volume of offline sales fully recovered?
As I mentioned earlier, thanks to strong innovations, a carefully crafted marketing plan and a consistent commercial strategy in the market, we do not feel a significant impact on the business of the pandemic. We are not focusing on last year's performance - we are faced with an ambitious plan for 2020, which we aim to fulfill.
What personally surprised, pleased or disappointed you in the reaction of buyers and customers?
Personally, I was pleased that customers, having placed an order on the Internet, did not hesitate to demonstrate their joy from purchasing our watches. We have received a large number of letters from customers with gratitude to the boutique staff for their attentive and patient approach, for constant feedback, for the highest level of service. I was also pleased that Russian customers took this year's novelties very positively. According to the results of the first half of the year, our Moscow boutique has become number 1 among all other boutiques in the world in terms of sales of spring novelties. Therefore, we are optimistic about the future and do our best to make our customers happy when they meet the TAG Heuer brand.