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In 2023 Alexis Nasard, CEO of Swarovski since July 2022, began to reap the fruits of the strategy and vision he gave to the historic company, born in Austria 128 years ago and today a global brand. Swarovski is not listed, but in mid-March it published revenue data (which is approaching 2 billion euros) and gave some indications on profitability, which is significantly improving. All divisions grew: retail sales by 4%, the B2B crystal business by 5% and other product categories by 6%, driven by jewellery.
Every day, geopolitical unknowns seem to be added for everyone, how did 2023 go looking at the different countries?
Sales in our ten most important markets grew by 10% on a constant basis and in the cities that we consider key the percentage rose to 13%. We have also achieved a balance between channels: offline is attributable to +5%, online overall is attributable to +4%, but if we look only at our site, swarovski.com, the increase was 11%. Last but not least, the profitability of the stores, which grew by 36%. I continue to consider physical stores strategic not only from a commercial point of view, but to enhance the image of the brand and above all to give end customers an increasingly unique experience. Indeed, ideally, unforgettable: only in this way will they return, online, offline or both.
In July it will be two years since you have been CEO of Swarovski, have your priorities changed in this period?
I would say no: the objective is to build sustainable bases for revenue growth, profitability and to guarantee the same competitiveness in the medium and possibly long term, also thanks to strengthened governance, which is important for addressing the many unknowns that everyone, people , companies and countries, we have before us.
What is the challenge for a brand like Swarovski, which does not offer basic necessities, but belongs to the so-called accessible luxury?
Brand loyalty exists and is strong for a brand like Swarovski. At the same time I think we must be constantly engaged in a game of seduction with end consumers. It all starts from the product, of course, but it is equally necessary, crucial, to become – and in my opinion Swarovski is doing so – part of the cultural panorama.
An ambitious objective, also given the competition in the luxury arena, with big brands increasingly committed to supporting the arts.
An ambitious objective, true, but a priority for us: we are committed to creating connections with other areas, to showing that the beauty of crystals can be combined not only with jewellery, watches, household objects or accessories. The collaboration between Swarovski and Skims is an excellent example of the new direction, but it does not mean that we will start partnerships for the sake of it or to attract attention: they must be combinations that create added value, just as happened with the collection created with the Kim Kardashian. Glasses are another good example: the optical and sunglasses collections resulting from the agreement with EssilorLuxottica are more than a license, they reflect the vision of Giovanna Engelbert, creative director of Swarovski, integrate with the image of the brand and are part of the strategy we have been following since I became CEO, which also has a name, LUXignite.