Swarovski is ready to make a run in the US

As the year draws to a close, it is time for Swarovski to shine. More than usual, since the start of the holiday season brought with it the traditional lighting, for the eighth consecutive year, of the Christmas tree in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. Present at the ceremony were Milan’s councilor for culture Tommaso Sacchi, Swarovski’s ceo Alexis Nasard, creative director Giovanna Engelbert and singer Mahmood. «An adventure that is renewed every time thanks to the excitement of Christmas and a tradition for Milan’s people that officially kicks off the holidays every year», Michele Molon, chief commercial officer of the historic Austrian glassware company, explained to MFF, who, with this tribute, wants to tell the citizens and visitors to the city about its ancient savoir-faire.

However, the end of a year is also a time for taking stock and setting new medium-term goals. And so just in recent days the company announced the signing of an exclusive license agreement for the design, production and worldwide distribution of eyewear with EssilorLuxottica, a partnership valid until december 31, 2028, with an automatic renewal option for another five years. The first collection, developed by Giovanna Engelbert, will be available from september 2023. However, future plans do not only concern eyewear. In fact, improving results are coming from watches, and the new bet is collaborations through the digital platform Swarovski creators lab, with which the company aims to generate a sales volume of 10% of turnover.

How did Swarovski perform in 2022?

The fiscal year is reporting double digit growth results compared to last year, and the positive trend will continue in 2023. The relaunch of e-commerce and the new retail concept have supported the development of the brand after the pandemic years. The business has a positive trend, especially in the US, a market to which we dedicated an important activation last month, namely the collaboration with The Mark hotel in New York at the start of this new holiday season.

Is the US an important area?

Along with China, the US is undoubtedly the most relevant market for us. Here we recently presented the Swarovski created diamonds project, which is having great success. After a successful pilot experience in key locations in the country, we are ready to launch this jewelry collection in 200 stores in the US and Canada over the next year.

As for other regions, have they proven to be as dynamic?

Europe is one of the most important markets, precisely because this is where the brand was born, and Italy is confirmed in first place, also thanks to the b2b world. Among emerging markets, the future is India, a country in which we are investing a lot and for which we have expansion plans that will lead us to significantly grow in the next three years.

Do you have openings in the pipeline?

2023 will be a special year because, in addition to continuing our transformation with WonderLux retail concept, we will open the world’s biggest flagship store right in the heart of Manhattan, New York City. We will then continue to invest and expand in the most important cities across the globe such as Los Angeles, Vienna, Tokyo, Paris, London, Seoul and Shanghai.

Swarovski began as glassware, but over the decades it has developed several categories. What are the best performing sectors today?

Our b2c collections continue to underscore the success of jewelry. Costume jewelry, under the creative direction of Giovanna Engelbert, is giving us unique satisfaction and bringing in new audiences. The world of Christmas decorations and crystal giftware continues to be a historic and strong pillar for our performance, which will be increasingly enriched with new collaborations. Watches are another of the fastest growing segments in our assortment, both in terms of productivity and distribution expansion.

Are there any new partnerships in the pipeline?

We have now consolidated our business in both the b2c and b2b worlds by collaborating with well known international brands, but today through our Swarovski creators lab project we are also offering them the opportunity to enter our digital and physical distribution with dedicated capsules. In this creative space we have initiated projects with brands such as Supreme, Abc or Aquazzura. The goal is to get to generate, through these collaborations, a sales volume of 10% of our turnover. (All rights reserved)