LVMH Group Kisses Sleeping Beauty TAG Heuer and Its Stars

Swiss TAG Heuer and Chinese diving team star

LVMH executives once described himself as the prince who kissed the sleeping beauty, and TAG Heuer is undoubtedly the sleeping beauty who was awakened by the prince. The watch brand that the TAG Heuer family founded 147 years ago entered the LVMH Group and quickly became one of the most powerful members of the world’s largest luxury goods group.

On October 22nd, Sarapova, only 19 years old, won the fourth WTA (Women's Tennis Federation) championship in Zurich this season, which is her 14th singles champion. When receiving the trophy, TAG Heuer proudly looks at the black dial of the TAG Heuer F1 diamond watch worn on her wrist.

Creating a well-known brand as a luxury brand requires enormous financial resources and ingenuity. LVMH executives once described himself as the prince who kissed the sleeping beauty, and TAG Heuer is undoubtedly the sleeping beauty who was awakened by the prince. The watch brand that the TAG Heuer family founded 147 years ago entered the LVMH Group and quickly became one of the most powerful members of the world's largest luxury goods group.

The success of TAG Heuer is primarily due to its precise positioning and continuous marketing indoctrination. Look at its brand ambassador and you will understand what kind of crowd it wants to attract. Brad Pitt, "Tiger" Woods, Uma Thurman, Kimi Raikkonen, Yao Ming, Sarah Pova and the Chinese team participating in the America's Cup Challenge. All along, TAG Heuer accurately conveys masculine temperament, enthusiasm, independence, and desire for success and self-display brand connotation.

In 2005, the profits of the entire watch and jewellery section of the LVMH Group have been quintupled. It is said that several sports watches designed by Tiger Tiger Woods personally contributed to the increase in sales of TAG Heuer.

Although Jean-Christophe BABIN, global CEO of TAG Heuer, told reporters that marketing is only a stage, the important thing is the actor, the watch itself. But luxury watches are becoming more and more luxurious star camps, big marketing investments, the importance of the stage seems to have overshadowed the actors, which made them have been questioned by some over-marketing: the watch is still used to time the machine?

The answer is definitely negative. The marketing masters of luxury watches are, first of all, the deepest insights of human psychology and the most sensitive capture of human desires. They are not just selling watches, but people have a feeling of being in the upper stream or near the upper class when they are spending. From an anthropological point of view, starting from primitive society, people are willing to pay a high price for goods that are not practical but can symbolize status. In this case, the generous brand agency fees invested by TAG Heuer to Brad Pitt or Tiger Woods and Yao Ming certainly exceeded expectations.

Compared with Richemont Group and SWATCH Group, the LVMH Group's jewellery and clocks department entered China significantly later. TAG Heuer currently has 6 stores and 76 retail outlets in China. Heuer's plan is to open another 5 to 6 stores in 2007, and the sales point will increase from 76 to 95. Jean-Christophe BABIN was very proud of his performance. He told reporters that opening a store in the best location is the best way to promote display. For example, Tag Heuer wants to open a flagship store opposite Wangfujing in Beijing.

Unlike other luxury goods that will talk about competitors as taboos, Jean-Christophe BABIN has publicly stated that he is catching up with Omega, whose sales in China are about ten times larger than that of Tag Heuer. In the U.S. market, TAG Heuer’s sales volume is about twice that of Omega. In Japan and Europe, Omega’s sales are about 20% and 30% higher than TAG Heuer. If the market is basically tied for a mature market, TAG Heuer is China’s move has become crucial.

Jean-Christophe BABIN hopes that one day TAG Heuer will be able to reach the third place in this fastest growing market. This also means that in the future there will be more stars like China's national diving team entering TAG Heuer's sight.