The Business of Luxury and Mobile

Recently, I was at a Financial Times Conference that focused on the business of luxury goods, examining trading research for my investment fund. One of the more interesting quotes included the following:

“Digital connectedness is becoming too much of a burden. Disconnected will become the new luxury”
-William Powers

As the resident horologist for Team Textopoly, I began to look into how many luxury watch brands are using mobile wap, app or sms and eschewing Mr. Powers’ analysis. Some of the luxury watch brands use mobile to not only connect, but also inform potential buyers, giving them additional tools to use when they visit their authorized dealer.

Venerable watch maker Patek Philippe, with pieces starting from $12,300 up to $1 million, believe in the Powers quote with good reason:

“When you buy a Patek Philippe, you need to feel and touch it and you need good advice. Patek Philippe is not only about business but also about passion. If I sell online, I’ll lose that,” said Thierry Stern, chief executive of one of the very few remaining family-owned Swiss watchmakers.

Mr. Stern is absolutely correct, as the weight of the watch, the look of the crystal, the feel of the material or metal is important.  However, some other brands are not only embracing online, but are looking at mobile apps and waps to engage future potential buyers. Here is a review of some:

IWC¹ – IWC, a Schaffhausen-based watchmaker known to adorn the wrists of people like John Mayer and designer Tom Ford, offers a mobile application that allows users to envision an IWC on their wrist, as well as detailed collection information. Most importantly, it offers locations where buyers can go and take Mr. Stern’s advice.

BELL & ROSS² - Bell & Ross is another Swiss made piece founded by French watchmakers.  Entertainers such as Zach Braff and Bruce Springsteen prefer this brand.  B&R’s mobile site & app offers a display of their collection, locations to purchase and a short in-house produced video to show the power of their “instrument” watch.

A  LANGE & SOHNE – ALS is an older, German brand whose mobile app offers a view of their collection gallery, in addition to messages from the firm. Point of sale and service information is also included on the mobile app.

PERRELET – Perrelet originated the self-winding mechanism in 1770 and jumped into the mobile app world in 2009. Their app showcases their turbine model as well as contact information for the company.

HUBLOT- Hublot is an iconic brand built upon their Big Bang series and offers a Maradona watch for football fans.  This brand has a robust wap site that shows their diverse collection and news.

MARVIN – Swiss based Marvin Watch has an iphone and wap enabled site that offers news, brand information, collection and contact information. Marvin takes it further and has a “Community Manager” Jerome Pineau who actively uses social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs like Hodinkee.com) to connect with current and potential buyers.  His participation has definitely influenced me to get my hands on the brand.

Clearly, there are some luxury brands that understand the importance of having a presence in the digital world and using that presence to introduce new generations to their wares. If that presence begins with mobile (or facebook, or iPad, etc), then Team Textopoly is the one you should call.

PS

Here is something interesting, too.  Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin³ recently announced plans and a website (http://www.uncells.com/) for the worlds first hybrid luxury watch and cell phone (“The Chairman”) running on the Google Android. Similar to how a mechanical watch is powered by kinetic energy, The Chairman’s battery will be backed up by the mechanical rotor inside the phone. Eat your heart out iPhone and Vertu!

*For the record, I am a hardcore Paneristi, but my collection includes Big Pilot^1, a BR01-92² and a Maxi Marine³