First he focused on Connected in TAG Heuer’s portfolio, increasing the smartwatch’s share of total sales for the brand to 15%.
Now his attention has turned to the core mechanical offering of the LVMH-owned brand and how to market it through a more focused, and smaller, network of authorised dealers.
Quite a baptism for the incoming CEO of TAG Heuer, Frédéric Arnault, who joined the company in 2017 before becoming CEO in 2020, just weeks before the start of the pandemic.
“Today, Connected watches represent 15% of our sales, and that’s a good ratio. Traditional watchmaking is doing very well, so this segment has had to really grow to increase its internal market share,” Mr Arnault says in a recent interview with Europa Star.
An early focus on Connected watches was a natural step for Mr Arnauld, who joined TAG Heuer from a spell in Silicon Valley where he worked in artificial intelligence R&D at Facebook.
Two years after accepting the CEO’s role, he says his strategic priority today is “a gradual repositioning and move upmarket in traditional watchmaking … and integrating innovative technologies into these lines, like the Plasma or the Solargraph”.
Overarching the product development is a relentless drive to improve the way the brand is sold and perceived.
This has led to 25% of its global point of sales being culled, bringing the total down to under 3,000.
“At the same time, we are strengthening our partnership with the points of sale that we have kept,” Mr Arnault describes.
“The cornerstone of this whole strategy, our permanent obsession, is the desirability of the brand. TAG Heuer must appeal to new generations and strengthen its relevance in the decade to come,” he concludes.