In conversation with the CEO of Chaumet Paris: Telling the jewelry story in the Chinese market

"The meaning of jewelry is more important than ever."

Recently, Jean-Marc Mansvelt, CEO of CHAUMET, said in an exclusive interview with the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the recovery of the wedding market has made consumers show strong interest in wedding jewelry. "After the pandemic, more attention has been paid to the meaning of jewelry, as a timeless symbol of love, human connection, to fight fear and adversity. In the first month after the pandemic was released, many people who postponed their weddings began to prepare for their weddings, coming to our offline high-end boutiques to spend and celebrate. ”

From September 17th to October 15th, CHAUMET Paris exhibition with the theme of "Tiara Dream" was held at the "Rainbow Space" Art Center of the North Bund International Guest Center in Shanghai. The exhibition has six themed exhibition halls, and uses digital means such as online guided tours, interactive AR and photo installations to display a series of contents such as antique crown collections, contemporary crown works, and original hand-drawn drafts.

At present, the mainland jewelry industry is ushering in a rapid recovery. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the retail sales of gold and silver jewelry in the first half of 2023 reached 168.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.5%, compared with the retail sales of 135.4 billion yuan in the first half of 2019, an increase of 24.7%. At the retail level, leading brands have seized market share by rapidly expanding stores, and the "2022 China Jewelry Industry Development Report" shows that Yuyuan, Lao Fengxiang, Chow Tai Fook and Luk Fook Group increased by 268, 664, 1514 and 316 respectively in each reporting period.

Jean-Marc Mansvet. Infographic

Young people become the main force

With the vigorous development of China's jewelry market, CHAUMET has also ushered in good results in China. According to the semi-annual report of its group LVMH, CHAUMET's watch and jewelry division generated revenue of 5.427 billion euros in the first half of this year, an increase of 13% year-on-year, of which the Asia-Pacific market is the most active. The financial report specifically mentioned that CHAUMET showed strong growth in the first half of the year, especially the highest sales of wedding series.

In fact, jewelry consumption is becoming younger from young and middle-aged people. According to the Digital Age Jewelry Market Report, consumers aged 18-34 are interested in jewelry content on social media, with 84% of respondents willing to participate in discussions. The "Review Report on the Performance of E-commerce Platforms in the Jewelry Industry" pointed out that the 25-34 year old group is the main consumer group of jewelry in the Chinese market, and they pay more attention to product design and price than the middle-aged group.

Since CHAUMET entered the Chinese market in 2007, brand rejuvenation has been an important strategic goal. Tian Feng, managing director of CHAUMET China, previously revealed in an interview with the media that the average age of consumers when CHAUMET first entered the Chinese market was over 40 years old. In order to bring the brand closer to younger consumers, CHAUMET has made adjustments in products, pricing and marketing strategies, such as the diamond ring entry model from 350,000 yuan in 2010 to the current price of 170,000 yuan. Now, its main customer base is in the 28-30 age range.

According to Jean-Marc Manswaite, offline store experience and digital channels are important ways to reach young Chinese consumers. "On the one hand, consumers come to offline boutiques to touch and feel the works, communicate with the store staff, and from the exchanges, we can understand the thoughts of consumers; On the other hand, different digital formats and social networks also allow us to better target and reach young consumers. ”

At present, CHAUMET has a total of 30 offline boutiques in Chinese mainland, most of which are distributed in first-tier and new first-tier cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu. Among them, Shanghai has the largest number of stores, with 7, followed by Beijing and Chengdu, with 4 and 3 respectively, according to Dianping data, offline stores are located in high-end business districts. In addition, cities such as Hefei and Zhengzhou also have layouts. "We opened stores in different cities to reach consumers in different cities at a deeper level and have a better understanding of our diverse customer base, which is also a way for us to localize." Jean-Marc Mansvet said.

Digitalization is the future

At the same time, online e-commerce is becoming another major position for jewelry consumption. According to the "Review Report on the Performance of E-commerce Platforms in the Jewelry Industry", online e-commerce platform consumption reached 67.7 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 14%. As far as the Douyin platform is concerned, between July 2022 and June 2023, content-related searches in the jewelry industry increased by 80.5% year-on-year, and related live broadcasts increased by 61.4% year-on-year.

As a fine jewelry brand, with the digital transformation of the Chinese market, CHAUMET has also started digital pilots. Since 2015, it has successively launched online wedding ring try-on, VR movies, jewelry matching H5 mini games, etc., and in 2020, it launched the first global full-range product CHAUMET online official flagship store in the Chinese market to expand more consumer touchpoints.

In order to highlight the unique advantages of digital channels, on the one hand, the Mini Program launched online exclusive styles to attract consumers with an entry price of less than 10,000 yuan, and on the other hand, used virtual try-on, hand size measurement and other functions to solve the problem of online try-on.

Jean-Marc Mansvet further pointed out that digital channels are the future of the brand, but it needs to be done step by step. "We have done a lot of work, such as Xiaohongshu, store digital experience, and there is still a lot of work to be done in the future to build better online channels. But instead of getting everything done under one goal, it's better to develop step by step, do one thing and then do the next thing. ”

On how CHAUMET tells the jewelry story in the Chinese market, the 21st Century Business Herald reporter met with Jean-Marc Mansvet for a conversation.

21st Century: Does CHAUMET need to balance the timelessness of fine jewelry with the current fashion of Chaumet Paris, which presents the rich heritage of Chaumet Paris, as well as contemporary display installations and interactive methods? How to balance?

Jean-Marc Manswaite: It is very important for consumers to find a balance between the past, both the past and the present. If we focus only on the present, we detract from the vital values created by CHAUMET's 243-year history, which represents cultural heritage and today represents the new exploration we want to pursue. Preserve tradition while pursuing current trends. Just like this "Tiara Dream" exhibition, you can learn about the history of CHAUMET Crown, and we also use some digital immersive experiences to meet today's aesthetic and exhibition needs.

21st CENTURY: HOW DOES CHAUMET PAINT A PICTURE OF ITS CONSUMER BASE IN CHINA? As a 243-year-old fine jewelry brand, how do you capture every generation of consumers?

Jean-Marc Manswaite: The first thing to do is to express the meaning of the brand, so that different customer groups can understand the brand, such as the pursuit of beauty, inheritance of culture, etc., and establish good connections among each generation of consumer groups. At the same time, it allows our customers, each generation of consumers, to express their perception and perception of the brand.

21st Century: After three years of the pandemic, have Chinese consumers changed in terms of jewelry consumption needs and preferences? Will there be higher requirements for value preservation?

Jean-Marc Manswaite: Jewelry is an object of love, human connection, symbolism against fear and adversity. Many Chinese consumers bought jewelry in stores after the pandemic for its eternal significance. The meaning of jewelry is more important than ever. WE ARE SEEING A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE HOLDING WEDDINGS IN THE FIRST MONTH AFTER THE PANDEMIC WAS LIFTED, AS THEY HAD BEEN WAITING FOR TWO YEARS TO COME TO THE CHAUMET BOUTIQUE TO SPEND AND CELEBRATE.

21st Century: In your understanding, what stage is China's jewelry consumption in?

Jean-Marc Manswaite: Chinese consumers are becoming more and more aware of our market, they know the characteristics of different brands, the materials used, the process technology and so on. This is not only an opportunity for us, but also a challenge. The more consumers know, the higher their expectations will be from our products.

At the same time, we found that consumers are showing a demand for product variety. Previously, our customer base might be interested in a certain style of a brand, but now we find that customers have different interests in different style types. At the same time, they like to mix different brands according to different functions.

21st CENTURY: CHAUMET also has accounts on platforms such as Xiaohongshu, but e-commerce platforms such as Tmall have not yet entered.

Jean-Marc Manswaite: We launched a WeChat mini program in 2020, and although we have not yet entered an e-commerce platform such as Tmall, this is also our future development direction. Because if there are more sales channels, the brand will also have more opportunities. As for the digital layout, we should take it step by step, and when we have completed one goal, we will move on to the next story.

21st Century: When many high-end brands enter online channels, they will consider the characteristics of the channel itself, so as to worry about their brand tone. How does CHAUMET think about this? What are the ideas on channel selection?

Jean-Marc Manswaite: Based on my experience, I think you should be very careful when choosing online sales channels in China. My personal feeling is that not just the fine jewelry market, but all jewelry markets, consumers want to go to the store to touch, try on and feel the jewelry piece, because the jewelry is not a statue or ornament, it is an accessory that we want to wear on the upper body. Despite the growing size of the jewelry market, online sales of jewelry are still an emerging market and are constantly expanding.

At this stage, I think consumers still want to go to the store and shop. Therefore, compared with other categories, the proportion of online e-commerce in jewelry is still very small. But we can also use online channels as a new operating model, combined with the shopping experience of offline stores, so that consumers can better experience our products.

21st CENTURY: HOW WILL CHAUMET TELL ITS JEWELRY STORY IN THE NEW AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA?

Jean-Marc Mansvet: We tell a lot about CHAUMET on social media. Not only do we invite celebrities, brand friends, or influencers to experience our jewelry creations to showcase them more fully, but we also better showcase and promote CHAUMET today through social media and online digitalization. In fact, this is not a matter of a single channel and a single approach, but should combine different models. But for every channel, the right story is important. It is important that we establish a global perspective and then combine different approaches to present the complete CHAUMET brand image.

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