Cartier, the Paris-based purveyor of high-end jewelry and watches, uses a deft hand to keep the luster on its brand. To grow sales, it's making an aggressive play for the nouveaux riches in emerging markets such as China and Russia. But it also uses smart marketing to burnish its image of exclusivity and tradition, as befits a company that's been in business since 1847.
Like many luxury brands, Cartier went through a rough patch during the recent global economic slump and the post-September 11 downturn. But it has rebounded nicely, thanks to strong global expansion and the success of new products such as Caresse d'Orchidées, a line of diamond-encrusted rings and necklaces introduced last year. "Cartier is the most beautiful brand in the world. Now we are reaping the dividends of a more aggressive strategy," Chief Executive Officer Bernard Fornas says. In the past year, Cartier has opened a dozen new stores, bringing its worldwide total to 236.
To garner publicity without seeming crassly commercial, Cartier sponsors cultural events as it expands in new markets. In the past year it has organized exhibits of Cartier jewelry at a Shanghai museum and Cartier watches at Beijing's Forbidden City, while displaying a carved-ice model of its flagship Paris store at an ice festival in the Chinese city of Harbin. "This creates a very important resonance for the brand," says Fornas, who was Cartier's marketing director before taking over the top job in 2002.
PROMOTIONAL ÉLÉGANCE. For more buzz, the company turns store openings and product launches into media events. Last January the company put on a midnight ball to celebrate the reopening of its elegant black-marble-fronted Paris store after an 18-month renovation. Guests danced under a crimson tent in the Tuileries Gardens, and local news reports showed photos of Fornas escorting the actress Monica Bellucci—who naturally wore a dazzling Cartier necklace.
Likewise, Cartier chose New York's Fashion Week last fall to launch its Caresse d'Orchidées jewelry line. The company rented Gotham Hall in Manhattan and decorated it with orchids, in keeping with the jewelry line's motif, and invited such celebrities as actresses Rosario Dawson, Rachel Weisz, and Kirsten Dunst.
Cartier also tries to link new products to the brand's history. A new line of jewelry and watches called La Doña is named after the legendary Mexican movie star Marian Felix, who was a devoted Cartier client.
What's the payoff? Richemont, the Swiss-based luxury conglomerate that owns the Paris-based house, doesn't release sales figures for Cartier. But it says the brand's strength was a key driver in Richemont's overall increase of 15% in jewelry sales and 22% in watch sales last year. Clearly, this 160-year-old brand still has plenty of sparkle.
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