Montblanc and evolving lifestyles

A luxury maison that was born more than a century ago, Montblanc is still as relevant today to not only businessmen and global movers and shakers but also to the millennials and the Gen Z. We talk to Nicolas Baretzki, Global CEO of Montblanc, on how the marque has been on the mark with its aficionados through the decades…

Montblanc, which was earlier known as a business lifestyle brand, is now seen as adventurous and for the millennials; how did this perception change occur and was it planned?

I do not think it was planned; it was more of a case of Montblanc adapting to how the world is changing. It starts first with the clients; it is not a brand strategy, it is a client approach. I was having a discussion with our UAE team, and I was emphasising that one of our values has to be our clients’ visions. Our job is to serve our clients; it is not to serve ourselves, our product, network and so on. Everything is client-driven and the way our clients are living their lives has been completely transformed in the past 10 years. It is a bit like the chicken and the egg; I do not know who influenced whom.

Ten years ago, most of us went to the office the full day and were wearing a suit and a tie the full day. At the end of the day, we would change and go out to see friends and be more casual while having fun. That has changed; today, we have companies that have closed their offices and give their employees the opportunity to work from home. This trend had started before COVID, and this separation of business life and personal life is no longer true. Historically, Montblanc has been a maison that catered to our customers’ requirements. That is why our products were earlier oriented towards business-luxury that appealed to the more serious businessman.

Today, this is completely different; travel has become an intrinsic part of business and travelling means mobility, going from Point A to Point B. That leads us to a trolley, and maybe a backpack to carry on top of the trolley. When we are travelling, we also want to be a bit more casual… leading to more changes. Everything is changing, the younger generation is used to being more casual; they are not so much into traditional clothes. They want simplicity, functionality; with our crossbody, you can access your things easily while travelling. The document case is an easy way to carry your important papers and also bestows a certain cachet on the person carrying it. That is why all of these products have been developed, which has reinforced the new way of mobility and travelling, and this is bringing more clients.

Part of our appeal is also the fact that our messages are very authentic and fits the DNA of the maison. The two key codes of the maison are the mountains – Mont Blanc itself, mountaineering, exploration, and all that we are doing in that field – and the journeys – the travelling, as that is the origin of the maison and the reason why we created this. I try to remain within these two key themes that are Montblanc-related so that when we present them to our clients, they can identify them as Montblanc. They see what we have done with Nimsdai Purja, Reinhold Messner or Simon Messner, how we are approaching the different genres and the messaging. We do not use an actor to say that you should use a Montblanc watch to ascend the Everest. That would not be very credible; but our clients understand our messaging.

This is true for Naruto also; it is exactly the same approach – a little disruptive, perhaps unexpected, but in the end, Naruto is another expression of writing and a very strong one in the world of manga and anime. If there is one brand that should collaborate with Naruto, that is Montblanc, and not a fashion brand. The core message in Naruto is the transmission of knowledge and that is why they did the short anime for us, with the theme of writing, it is something that belongs to that story, is a part of the story and not something created just for us.

But it is not just the younger generation that was interested in Naruto; a big part of our clients was not the younger generation but were aged between 40 and 55 years old because Naruto has been ongoing for nearly 20 years or so. My son wanted very badly to attend the launch event as he is a huge fan but could not as leisure travel was still not allowed then. These kinds of collaborations are definitely cross-generational and not focused on the younger generation.

How were you able to get that collaboration approved?

I was able to get approval for the exact reason I told you now. It is fitting and legitimate for Montblanc to collaborate with Naruto. It is perceived as a bit disruptive because some brands are using collaborations for other reasons that maybe less legitimate than ours, for instance. Perhaps because they want to target the younger generation and so collaborate just for that. This was not our reason and therefore there was no issue in getting it approved.

Now that you have started with one anime character, are you getting requests from clients for other anime characters that they grew up with?

Yes, but we are not revealing anything because then we would lose the element of surprise.

Montblanc was historically known for business watches until you presented the Geosphere 1858 line, and now that has become your most iconic watch; were you surprised by that?

It was perhaps a bit of a surprise the first year, but not much. Here again, we are reverting to our key codes – the mountains and the journey, which are the two most emblematic signs of the maison. The 1858 Geosphere  has a strong element of storytelling and a dramatically different dial. When you see watches, the case and dial are the first things you see. Some brands play with cases, but as we do not have a specific case, our dials are the first thing that catches the eye. Therefore, the dial is the most important element; besides, the function gives a face that is a bit different from those available in the market and that makes it not only beautiful but strongly differentiates our watches. That is the main reason that the Geosphere has been so successful.

Another factor is our decision to continue working on the same theme and lines and not completely change the watch every time to something totally different. Continuity is something that our collectors expect from our key collections; for instance, our writing instruments Meisterstück and Starwalker have been around for a very long time now. We go by the same principles in leather; for watches too, we are going to go with what works for Montblanc. The Geosphere is clearly our hero product today; Iced Sea is becoming a bestseller for the maison, and this is again for the same reasons. There is a clear storytelling that is related to Montblanc and is unique, it has a completely different face, and great craftsmanship.