Maurice Lacroix’s time is now
The affordable Swiss watchmaker, Maurice Lacroix, celebrated its 40 year anniversary earlier this year, and is known for producing complex movements for its mechanical timepieces under the leadership of CEO, Stéphane Waser, who cleverly created the brand marketing slogan “Your Time is Now”
Waser directs a team of highly-experienced professionals who work hard to be a part of the successful brand. One member of this gifted team is David Sanchez, Product and R&D Director of Maurice Lacroix, who has been with the company for just under a year. “Day & Night” magazine sat down with Sanchez and talked about the company’s future plans for the region, target audience and its special relationship with official FC Barcelona football club.
As Product Director, what has been your biggest challenge since you joined the company?
In the last seven months since I joined Maurice Lacroix, the biggest challenge was finalizing the mechanical development of our women’s “Masterpiece Power of Love.” The timepiece is based on the revolutionary “Masterpiece Square Wheel,” which was launched in 2010, and features three enchanting hearts mechanically beating together to form the word “Love” once every minute. The release of this new complication signals the 14th Manufacture movement by Maurice Lacroix for which we are very proud of.
What has the feedback been like for the Masterpiece Power of Love?
Since its reveal earlier this year at the Baselworld fair, the feedback we received for the Masterpiece Power of Love has been incredible. The timepiece demonstrates the essence of Maurice Lacroix perfectly by harbouring innovative technology that allows customers to enjoy the turning hearts that feature on the fresh, modern dial.
What has been your most memorable highlight?
The highlight has to be the process of setting up an effective brand strategy for the next three years. Our aim is to build a stronger base so that we can increase our hold on certain markets and to ensure we raise product awareness in terms of marketing.
Which market would you like a stronger hold in?
We would like to gain a larger following in the Middle East. Around a decade ago, we were one of the most sought after watch brands in the Middle East, but we lost that edge and would like to re-focus our efforts to recover, if not supersede our previous position in the market. This region is very important for us because our products are primarily designed for local tastes and we are confident that we will do well here once our strategies are implemented.
Who is your typical Middle-Eastern customer?
Our targeted clientele is someone who is young to middle-aged, but above all, successful. They enjoy living life to its fullest potential and are not afraid to take the plunge. Our motto “Your Time is Now” is applicable to our clients, where we encourage them to live for the moment and reward themselves for their continued success.
How many points of sales do you have in the UAE?
We have 12 points of sale in Dubai located in major malls and hotels. We also have five in Abu Dhabi, one in Al Ain, one in Fujairah, and one in RAK.
Maurice Lacroix has recently won the prestigious Red Dot Design Award. What does it take to win such an award?
To be honest, it takes a lot of hard work, skill and dedication. To date, we have won 11 Red Dot Design Awards, which is a major accomplishment in our brand’s immediate history. For us, it’s about passion and the ability to strike a balance between our manufacturing technology and our aesthetic design – If the combination is right between these two elements then there is a good chance of winning an award, especially a prestigious worldwide award.
Maurice Lacroix is the official sponsor of FC Barcelona. How did this relationship come about?
The relationship started when FC Barcelona chose us, from an extensive list of other watch brands, to work with them by designing special watches featuring the club logo. Through extensive research, the football club realized that our brand was a perfect match for its energetic team spirit because we share the same ideas, creativity and passion. Also, our brand slogan matched perfectly with the club’s ethos, where the stylish players live for the present moment, cherishing a game of football for every second, which holds the key to winning or losing. So collectively, we decided to be the official sponsor of the football club, and the partnership is working extremely well to date.
Are all your calibres produced in-house?
No, not all our calibres are produced in-house and there are currently no plans to change this. Only our Masterpiece Collection features calibres that are produced entirely in-house. One of our other accomplishments was that we designed, produced and assembled 14 calibers in the space of nine years, which is a remarkable feat. These calibres demonstrate the brand’s expertise and technology that are only reserved for timepieces in the Masterpiece collection.
Currently, the brand produces around 90,000 watches a year. Are there any plans to increase this number next year?
Yes, we would like to increase our production rates to reflect our new strategy. I can’t give you a precise figure but I can tell you that we are planning to double our production within the next five years.
Are there any plans to reach a wider female audience?
Currently our sales ratio is split at 80% for men and 20% for women, so there is plenty of room to improve on sales for the female clientele. In fact, this is one of the strategies that I mentioned earlier, where Maurice Lacroix would like to produce more ladies varieties to cater for many various tastes. Just last year we launched the Fiaba Collection, which proved to be a big hit with the ladies as they enjoyed the feminine shapes of the cases and the diamonds that feature on the bezel or as hour markers on the dial.
