2023-10-19 15:21:18
The Tyrolean crystal group Swarovski has achieved positive sales results in the period from January to September in the 2023 financial year: an increase of around two percent compared to the same period last year. For the whole of 2022, sales were 1.83 billion euros. “It’s been a decent year so far,” CEO Alexis Nasard told reporters in Wattens. The new general manager there, Jérôme Dandrieux, was also introduced.
The CEO reported on Thursday that it was particularly fruitful that they relied on new “store concepts”. Now it’s time to “charge the brand, which is also rich in culture, even better,” explained Nasard, directing his attention primarily towards China, which would represent a “huge market” in which one would have to be even more successful. However, the first fruits have already been reaped there: “A large event as part of a Swarovski exhibition in Shanghai is already having its first impact in terms of sales.”
The aim is to strengthen the brand not only with cultural events, but also with the topic of sustainability, as Swarovski production manager Herbert Schuler reported. “We focus on sustainable collections with a large proportion of recycling,” he explained. At the Wattens location, the focus is also on photovoltaics and in the production area on “renewable energy”.
In any case, business in Austria was going well, reported Wolf-Dietrich Plattner, Swarovski’s financial director at the Wattens headquarters: “From January to September we were able to achieve an increase in sales of 14 percent.” In the Swarovski Crystal Worlds the increase even amounts to 67 percent.
“We are ready for the next few months and for the future,” said Nasard and Swarovski Supervisory Board President Luisa Delgado in unison. The latter also presented the new general manager at the Wattens location, Dandrieux. He will not only act as general manager of Wattens, but also as global human resources manager, said Delgado.
Dandrieux studied literature and philosophy as well as human resources. In 2009, following several professional positions, he moved to Valeo and later to Louis Vuitton, where he played a central role as the person responsible for social development. He has been managing director of Rimowa GmbH since 2018.
The Frenchman didn’t want to say too much regarding his style and plans, but: “I believe that the combination of human resources and managing directorship can set new trends.” In any case, he was “aware of the challenges”, but asked for time to specify them precisely: “I won’t start my job until mid-November.”
The crystal company had been confronted with severe turbulence in recent years. This affected both the group management and the economic situation due to the corona crisis. Ex-CEO Robert Buchbauer initiated a restructuring of the group – including large-scale layoffs in Wattens – with which part of the family clan did not agree. Legal disputes were the result. Last year, Nasard, a person from outside the family, took over management of the company for the first time.
Recently, however, there was positive news – and this not only affected sales development. For example, the area of “cultured crystals” is developing splendidly, reported Peter Widmann, Managing Director B2B at Swarovski, at the press conference on Thursday. “60 percent in this area are new customers for us,” he explained. In stores, up to ten percent of sales are now achieved through cultured crystals. Most recently there was talk of “global expansion” in the matter of “Created Diamonds” starting in the fall.
1697729506
#Swarovski #percent #increase #sales
