2023-11-28 13:13:34
In 2019, Audemars Piguet (AP) became the global partner of the Montreux Jazz Festival. Its CEO François-Henry Bennahmias reaffirms the values of the Swiss Manufacture: audacity and creativity, all in music. Interview shows in hand.
In 2005, with Jay-Z, you defied the codes of luxury by inaugurating partnerships between luxury houses and rappers. Which niche should we now turn to?
François-Henry Bennahmias: Currently, the trend is towards mixing universes and it is anything but an exact science. It can concern the metaverse, contemporary art, music, again and again – because music is our essential! –, or sport. There are many touch points. We must remain attentive to everything that is happening and ignore momentary trends and instead focus on the long term.
The first step in your partnership with the Montreux Jazz Festival, in 2010, was to support the digitization, restoration and preservation of its audiovisual archives. In 2019, you become its global partner. And in 2022, you are launching your own experience during the Montreux Jazz Festival: “Audemars Piguet Parallel”. The following ?
It is to continue this search for excellence at AP, to surprise people, to promote emerging talents, and to be able to find ourselves in sublime settings – because it must be said that around Montreux, there are some incredible spots – and then to see how the audience can react. The 2022 financial year has gone extraordinarily well, so we continue.
Did you participate in the Parallel programming (Dj Carlita, Metronomy, Mark Ronson, etc.)?
Of course, with the team whose job it is. The artists who appear on stage must correspond to the AP spirit, hence the eclecticism of the choices.
You will leave AP management at the end of the year. What legacy will you leave to the brand?
I myself continued the path traced almost 150 years ago. The brand will continue to make very beautiful watches, in an exclusive manner, with limited, constrained volumes, through very selective distribution. We now have less than 100 points of sale in the world, and we will continue to work in this direction. So, there is no big revolution on the horizon, on the contrary, it is more about continuing into the future what has allowed the brand to shine until now.
“IF WE DEHUMANIZE IT, LUXURY NO LONGER EXISTS. »
How has the market evolved?
It all depends on the brands. We know today that the world of luxury is evolving in a rather incredible way, since the scores announced by all the houses show strong growth each year. AP follows the same curve. But there are many countries where we are not yet present… which suggests good years ahead.
To justify the price of its watches, AP emphasizes the emotion that exceptional products provide.
We justify the price of the watches by inviting everyone to come and see how they are made. It is by discovering it that the question of price no longer arises. From there, the emotion generated by the discovery, and the understanding of the creative process, makes people appropriate the brand in different ways.
A memory of your first watch?
My first emotion about a watch was a Swatch: I found it great to see so much creativity on watches for fifty francs. As for my first AP, it was a “Perpetual Calendar”, rectangular, with a very retro style. Even though I’m always looking at tomorrow, I like to rediscover the patina and stories of vintage watches.
To still be there in 200 years is the leitmotif of the brand. What is your dream in ten years?
My dream for AP is that all the work in progress continues and that we are even better and more innovative in ten years. Personally, you will see…
Inspired by the Coco Chanel strategy, you launched the AP Houses in 2022. Is developing the customer experience with AI something that tempts you?
I think we have to be careful with these trends and not rush headlong into them. Although computers can give us a lot of information, luxury relies mainly on human relationships. AI will never replace human connections and instinct. But, indeed, there is fundamental work to be done regarding the collection of data and the analysis of this data. How will we interpret the DATA? “Customer relationship managers” and “customer experience” have become the big concepts of every boardroom and marketing and sales meeting in the world today. The challenge remains the same: how to appropriate the data and transform it into human content? If we dehumanize it, luxury no longer exists.
By Alexis Lacourte
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