It was in 1833 that Antoine LeCoultre transformed his family’s small barn in the heart of the Vallée de Joux in Switzerland into a watchmaking atelier and began to create timepieces of great accuracy. Within a few decades, the maison was well known in horological circles for its calibres and is now established as one of the top watchmakers. Pierre De Bellescize – Managing Director for the Middle East, India and Africa, Jaeger-Lecoultre – was appointed in 2023. Since then, he tells us, he has been busy learning about the brand and its markets worldwide
Can you tell us about your experience with Jaeger-LeCoultre in the Middle East?
I have only recently joined Jaeger-LeCoultre. I have been in the RIchemont group for the last four years, but I was more in the digital part of the group. I was working in Milan with Yoox-Net-a-Porter – an online retailer. I joined as the Managing Director of Jaeger-Lecoultre for the region. I am discovering the maison the same time as I am discovering the region, which is quite interesting. My life in the last six months has been super-intense because I went to visit all our markets and spend time with our partners and our customers to really understand the value of brand and what Jaeger-Lecoultre stands for in the different markets.
There is the Middle East, and we call the whole region by that name, but, at the end, it is comprised of very different markets. For instance, in Dubai, which is our main market, we have a strong presence and there is also a high potential for growth. Then we have a significant markets like Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia where the maison has been present for years already and is continuing to grow. Then there are also less mature markets that we have just started to develop. Last week, I was in India, which is a market that is booming, still smaller but booming with a very bright future.
Why would you term the Indian market as ‘booming’ when India has very high taxation for luxury products?
Yes, India has a very high taxation, but India also makes it very hard for Indian residents to bring watches from abroad. I would say that is one reason. The second is the fact that the economy and the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals are growing year after year. The third reason is the fact that the luxury ecosystem – the luxury economy and the luxury malls – is just starting to be built. For instance, we just opened our boutique in November 2023 at the Jio World Plaza, which is the first luxury mall in Mumbai. We are going to open a boutique in a few months in Bangalore at the Mall of Asia, the first luxury mall to exist in Bangalore. Can you imagine a city like Mumbai and 35,000,000 habitants? It’s the first luxury mall there as international luxury did not really exist there earlier. For us, it is the right time to accelerate and be present in the key cities that have qualitative boutiques. That is why we are prioritising it, but that does not mean that we don’t want to accelerate in other parts of the world, but it is definitely super-interesting for us.
What is the ratio of men and women as customers for Jaeger-Lecoultre?
Overall, worldwide for Jaeger-Lecoultre, our customers are 50-50 between the genders equally. With the women, it is mostly the Rendez-Vous with a strong share also in the Reverso because the Reverso is unisex, and we also have specific models also for women in the range. In the Middle East, the ratio is more towards men, 70% men and 30% of women; for men, I would say that the main model in the region is the Reverso – the most iconic model of the brand that was created nearly 100 years ago. If you want to buy Jaeger-Lecoultre, that is the first watch you get – if you are from this region.
It would probably not be the case if you live in China and want to buy your first Jaeger-Lecoultre – you would be interested in buying a Master Ultra Thin if you are a man or a Rendez-Vous if you are a woman. But in this part of the globe, in every watch collector’s portfolio there would definitely be a Reverso.
How has growth been for Jaeger-Lecoultre in Doha, where you have recently tied up with Ali Bin Ali?
We have been present in Doha for many years with different partners but started working with Alin Bin Ali just recently. Our sales has developed together with the economy of Qatar, which was boosted during the preparation for the World Cup, the building of the infrastructure, and so on. There has been good growth in the last few years since the World Cup, except in the past year when business slowed down for a few months due to geopolitical problems. But, over the past six months, sales has really been developing, especially with a strong interest from the Qataris for high watchmaking. For the Doha Jewellery & Watch show, we came from Geneva with 15 high watchmaking pieces, which is the first time that we have done that in Qatar.
