New Reporter
30-06-23, 10:26
Panerai’s art of soft-selling
Chuang Peck Ming
Jun 30, 2023
TO HEAR Jean-Marc Pontroue tell it, the bar counter – and not the showcase – in Officine Panerai’s new generation boutiques is the Italian watch brand’s “bestselling spot”, pointing to a shift in sales strategy that puts more emphasis on soft-selling.
The bar, where beverages as well as soft and hard drinks are served, is a magnet for fans of Panerai’s “classic Italian” timepieces, bringing them together to share a common interest, relax, enjoy and leave with a memorable experience.
“(Our boutiques) are no longer just (having) a salesperson selling watches to a customer across a table,” says Panerai’s chief executive officer Pontroue in a recent interview. “They’re more a lifestyle and entertaining environment.”
While watch brands speak of “flagship” boutiques, Panerai calls its biggest boutiques Casa Panerais. “Casa is Italian for house where the family meets – and hospitality is a very important Italian concept,” says Pontroue, who is French. “Our boutiques are here to give pleasure in terms of service, not just products.”
Panerai has about 170 boutiques worldwide and, according to him, 35 more will open this year, because the brand wants to extend its hospitality with a personal touch to more customers. And to ensure the boutiques are staffed with the right people to deliver it, the CEO is spending 50 per cent of his time on recruitment.
“The biggest issue we have is how to hire people,” Pontroue says, adding that the brand takes in about 100 people yearly. “Hospitality is a very challenging issue. In service you can make people disappointed or happy very quickly. Empathy is key when you deal with customers.”
Luxurious hospitality of the kind Panerai has in mind also calls for bigger boutiques. Apart from the well-stocked bar, cushy lounge and expansive watch showcases, these 250 to 450-square-metre-large exclusive shops will have a dedicated space for women.
“We want to pay more attention to them,” says Pontroue, who started his career with French fashion brand Givenchy. “In the past, the ladies would ‘steal’ their husbands’ Panerai watches to wear and we’re very silent on them. But often at dinners and events we hosted, the ladies who came with their husbands always asked why don’t we do something for them – and one of their complaints is the watches are too big.”
Pontroue concedes they have a “fair point” and has made changes targeted to attract women customers. After all, Panerai has collaborated with lifestyle fashion houses, and the brand has room for timepieces that appeal more to the ladies without compromising its DNA.
Because they were first created for the Italian Navy, Panerai’s mechanical timepieces were big and masculine. And they have continued to roll out in case sizes of 44 mm and 47 mm under Pontroue’s watch in the past five years, but now alongside timepieces that are smaller, slimmer and colourful.
Panerai’s factory in Neuchatel, Switzerland, is also producing more “high-end” and gold timepieces. “We’re weak in gold. Now it’s a growing business, (growing) faster than any of our business,” Pontroue says. Similarly, the new Panerai annual calendar model is one of the brand’s “biggest hits”.
Pontroue, however, drew the line at around 38mm to 40mm for a Panerai watch. “40 is OK, but we will never do 28 or 32.” Also, “only mechanical and no quartz movements; and no diamonds on the watches”, he says. “We have to stay loyal to our foundations.”
Now owned by the Swiss-based Richemont group, Panerai was founded in Italy in 1860, but its popularity – the brand now has one of the biggest collectors’ community – only took off in 1997, after a Panerai watch was seen on Sylvester Stallone’s wrist in the action movie Daylight.
Panerai has four collections – Luminor, Luminor Due, Radiomir and Submersible – but the watches are all instantly recognised by their cushion-shaped case. Pontroue says Panerai is sticking to these collections – and there is no way it is going to change the design of the watch case. “It’s the brand’s identity and the image is so strong in the customer’s mind.”
Pontroue’s job is to continue to enrich the four product lines, “to make the brand more known or desirable for a growing number of people in the next 10, 20, 30 years”. He adds: “It’s the mission of the 800 people at Panerai.”
Panerai will also reach out to more young people. “We want to democratise the brand,” Pontroue says. And, of course, the bar at its boutiques is also open to them.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/lifestyle/panerais-art-soft-selling
Chuang Peck Ming
Jun 30, 2023
TO HEAR Jean-Marc Pontroue tell it, the bar counter – and not the showcase – in Officine Panerai’s new generation boutiques is the Italian watch brand’s “bestselling spot”, pointing to a shift in sales strategy that puts more emphasis on soft-selling.
The bar, where beverages as well as soft and hard drinks are served, is a magnet for fans of Panerai’s “classic Italian” timepieces, bringing them together to share a common interest, relax, enjoy and leave with a memorable experience.
“(Our boutiques) are no longer just (having) a salesperson selling watches to a customer across a table,” says Panerai’s chief executive officer Pontroue in a recent interview. “They’re more a lifestyle and entertaining environment.”
While watch brands speak of “flagship” boutiques, Panerai calls its biggest boutiques Casa Panerais. “Casa is Italian for house where the family meets – and hospitality is a very important Italian concept,” says Pontroue, who is French. “Our boutiques are here to give pleasure in terms of service, not just products.”
Panerai has about 170 boutiques worldwide and, according to him, 35 more will open this year, because the brand wants to extend its hospitality with a personal touch to more customers. And to ensure the boutiques are staffed with the right people to deliver it, the CEO is spending 50 per cent of his time on recruitment.
“The biggest issue we have is how to hire people,” Pontroue says, adding that the brand takes in about 100 people yearly. “Hospitality is a very challenging issue. In service you can make people disappointed or happy very quickly. Empathy is key when you deal with customers.”
Luxurious hospitality of the kind Panerai has in mind also calls for bigger boutiques. Apart from the well-stocked bar, cushy lounge and expansive watch showcases, these 250 to 450-square-metre-large exclusive shops will have a dedicated space for women.
“We want to pay more attention to them,” says Pontroue, who started his career with French fashion brand Givenchy. “In the past, the ladies would ‘steal’ their husbands’ Panerai watches to wear and we’re very silent on them. But often at dinners and events we hosted, the ladies who came with their husbands always asked why don’t we do something for them – and one of their complaints is the watches are too big.”
Pontroue concedes they have a “fair point” and has made changes targeted to attract women customers. After all, Panerai has collaborated with lifestyle fashion houses, and the brand has room for timepieces that appeal more to the ladies without compromising its DNA.
Because they were first created for the Italian Navy, Panerai’s mechanical timepieces were big and masculine. And they have continued to roll out in case sizes of 44 mm and 47 mm under Pontroue’s watch in the past five years, but now alongside timepieces that are smaller, slimmer and colourful.
Panerai’s factory in Neuchatel, Switzerland, is also producing more “high-end” and gold timepieces. “We’re weak in gold. Now it’s a growing business, (growing) faster than any of our business,” Pontroue says. Similarly, the new Panerai annual calendar model is one of the brand’s “biggest hits”.
Pontroue, however, drew the line at around 38mm to 40mm for a Panerai watch. “40 is OK, but we will never do 28 or 32.” Also, “only mechanical and no quartz movements; and no diamonds on the watches”, he says. “We have to stay loyal to our foundations.”
Now owned by the Swiss-based Richemont group, Panerai was founded in Italy in 1860, but its popularity – the brand now has one of the biggest collectors’ community – only took off in 1997, after a Panerai watch was seen on Sylvester Stallone’s wrist in the action movie Daylight.
Panerai has four collections – Luminor, Luminor Due, Radiomir and Submersible – but the watches are all instantly recognised by their cushion-shaped case. Pontroue says Panerai is sticking to these collections – and there is no way it is going to change the design of the watch case. “It’s the brand’s identity and the image is so strong in the customer’s mind.”
Pontroue’s job is to continue to enrich the four product lines, “to make the brand more known or desirable for a growing number of people in the next 10, 20, 30 years”. He adds: “It’s the mission of the 800 people at Panerai.”
Panerai will also reach out to more young people. “We want to democratise the brand,” Pontroue says. And, of course, the bar at its boutiques is also open to them.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/lifestyle/panerais-art-soft-selling