Audemars Piguet Lady Millenary Collection Aimed at Strong Women
While some makers of luxury watches feature supermodels or current “it girls” in their ads, under CEO François-Henry Bennahmias, Audemars Piguet has chosen strong, independent women like tennis champ Serena Williams as its brand ambassadors. The latest face of the Swiss brand is actor/producer Frieda Pinto who was on hand this week for the Paris launch of the new Lady Millenary collection. Rather than quiz Pinto on her favorite designers, Bennahmias asked about her non-profit and work toward female empowerment, proving he knows his audience.
Sales are up since Bennahmias took over the reins at Audemars Piguet three and a half years ago and he attributes this to refining the brand’s offerings. “When I became CEO, Audemars Piguet was already in a good place. I wanted to look beneath, see what was good and what was maybe not as good,” he stated. “The important thing was to have ‘fewer, bigger, and better’ – not too many models, with an aim to consolidate. Our sales at the end of June this year were up 14% for the first semester compared to last year, so we must be doing something right.”
Bennahmias feels that one reason for the uptick in sales is the brand’s focus on watches for the ladies, “especially in Asia, Latin America and the USA, and this is one of the reasons the new ‘Lady Millenary’ collection is so important for us,” he said. “From a total of 40,000 watches manufactured every year at Audemars Piguet, 25% of these are for ladies. We see room for growth in this area, and aim to increase that to 30%.”
The Lady Millenary collection targets the feminine but independent woman with stylish oval-shaped watches powered by a 5201 hand-wound movement. Bennahmias says of the collection, “Audemars Piguet is not a fashion watch, but it is important for the brand to create an identity of high luxury and link the watch to fashionable ladies.”
