Jean-Claude Biver, head of LVMH Watches, says the success of his different brands relies on innovation and passion
Luxury is being alive, says Biver
A. I always try to be "first, different and unique". Any project, product, concept or idea that comes to me, it must fit those requirements. It must be the first, it must be unique, it must be different. And then, I would add "all you need is love". If you have passion for your job, you can achieve anything. And I would add "start to love your doubts and believe in your gut feelings". And last but not least, "never hire someone that is inferior to you; only hire people that are better than you".
A. The three brands are quite different in all aspects. They have different products, different prices and completely different DNA. All this makes it easy to differentiate between them and keep their identity and DNA.
Hublot has a very clear message: "The Art of Fusion", bringing together tradition and innovation. [It's] a brand that will not repeat the past, but respect the past in connection with the future. It's a brand that promotes innovation, as innovation is more powerful than knowledge.
Zenith is a very traditional brand and a hidden diamond that we have to [sculpt] for its light to shine. It's a phenomenal brand, but totally unexplored. It has to come back to life and we will start to work on this in the second half of the year. I like the challenge of taking on a brand. For Zenith, I just need to give it new dynamics.
By contrast, TAG Heuer is a young, dynamic brand that stands for design, technology and avant-gardism. At the end, like an orchestra's conductor, I make sure that all the different instruments play in harmony.
A. It might split the industry in two. On one side will be the "eternity" heritage from the art of watchmaking, which are watches that will be working and repairable in 1,000 or more years. And on the other hand, we might have the "obsolete", which are all the technology watches born from an industrial process and are certain to become obsolete when the process is changed or improved. Those two trends, eternity and obsolete, will never compete against each other, but are rather complementary.