A. Lange & Söhne

patrick_y
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Richemont has always been this way...

I agree. I would like to see a multi-brand store. Swatch Group has the Tourbillon stores that sell multiple Swatch brands, why not something similar for Richemont? But this has always been something unique to Richemont. Richemont is unlike Swatch - Swatch is kind of like Volkswagen group, Blancpain and Breguet get the best, and the other brands get the "trickle down" and there's a lot of platform sharing, technology sharing, and advice between all the brands at Swatch. In Volkswagen, Bentley shares platforms with Porsche and Lamborghini with Audi - V8 engines are shared amongst all the brands (VW, Audi, Lambo, Bentley, and Porsche all share tech on V8 engines). Richemont on the other hand is very different. Each brand is very independent. There is almost no co-development at Richemont. Each brand is very much silo-ed and needs to operate on its own and be profitable on its own. I agree, they could operate together and see more efficiencies - especially on the retail side. But generally most Richemont brands do not operate like that. It's just how Richemont operates. But I agree. I'd like to see multi-brand Richemont stores. I could put together a compelling business case for this in certain markets - particularly tourist-heavy markets but not the Chinese market. Luxury brands want the Chinese to understand the individuality of each brand, so for their China stores, they're often individual stores (even Breguet and Blancpain are often separated in Chinese flagship stores). In China, the stores don't generate tremendous sales volumes (the wealthy buying a Breguet generally buy them overseas where the costs are lower) but are great for educating the clients about the brand and its history.
But also look at the problem with Tourbillon stores. Tourbillon stores all have that beige look. A Breguet Tourbillon sits in a beige showcase next to a Glashutte Original Flying Tourbillon, a Jacquet Droz Tourbillon, and a Blancpain Tourbillon. All of them are priced between 120,000 Euros and 150,000 Euros. A big percentage difference, but not a huge difference to someone who is seriously able to afford a Tourbillon. All in a beige case, all presented at similar price points, it's hard to get a client to understand what makes each one special... So then you're back to the "shop in shop" retail concept, where one retailer has a built out area for each brand. Lange will have its half of the store outfitted in their signature grey color scheme with Lange furniture; the Vacheron Constantin side of the store with their art-deco black and peach color scheme. There's a bit of a clash sometime. Richemont should just sell Lange and VC in a Cartier store. That would generate the biggest sales increase! The men will buy something. The ladies will buy something at the same time. Max revenue and lower costs too!  But then the watch brands would complain that they are overshadowed by Cartier.  And that this wouldn't lead to passion-buliding, excitement, and secondary/tertiary sales and turning these clients into collectors.  Richemont thinks that these mono-brand stores are more likely to turn a first time buyer into a future super-appreciator and thus a future super-collector. 

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