The day before the launch, we sat down with Frédéric Arnault, 28, to discuss his strategy for the brand. Arnault joined Tag Heuer in 2017, first in a strategy role, and was elevated to CEO in 2020. As we’re seeing with other brands under the LVMH umbrella, including Tiffany and Louis Vuitton, he’s moving many the product lines to more expensive price points while cutting out stores and product models that don’t match an elite vision.

So far, he says, the strategy has been a success in revenue; while LVMH doesn’t release numbers per brand, Arnault cites “double-digit growth” in the past few years, not through selling more watches, but selling more expensive ones.

How important is this store for the brand?

When I joined as CEO, we defined a new retail strategy. We wanted to invest a lot in our mono-brand stores. With mono brands, we can have the full brand experience and develop strong customer relationships. Being present on Fifth Avenue with great visibility was important as a brand statement. We had a flagship already, but it was not strong enough. So it was about elevating the overall experience. This store is more than double the size.

Globally, what have you done in that shift toward mono-brand stores?

We drastically reduced the number of point of sales from 4,000 to 2,300, but we more than doubled the total number of mono-brands. [Tag Heuer has 260 boutiques worldwide.] In many places we had a boutique, but it was not necessarily in the best location or with the best floor arrangements. So we significantly elevated the current network. And we are opening a boutique every week, basically. Either us directly or with partners.

Tell us how Tag has been doing since you took over.

Very well. One of the key objectives for us was brand elevation – growing through value and investing in our icons, especially the Carrera and the Monaco. The last launches we’ve released proved to be very successful: the new Carrera glass box has such an iconic and differentiated look and feel, and the new Monaco skeleton gives a very different flavour to this iconic piece.

We also pushed the boundaries in high-end watchmaking when we introduced the lab-grown diamonds with a totally new, innovative setting [in the Carrera Plasma line].

And also, we are re-entering the world of high horology with high complications; the first expression of that is the Monaco that will be auctioned in the Only Watch auction. For the first time ever, we are doing a split seconds chronograph wristwatch. And then we will re-enter the sports chronograph complication space in high watchmaking.

Has there been a reduction in product lines?

We have fewer individual models than in the past, but in terms of lines, that hasn’t changed. It’s more a strategy of elevation in the existing collections: the Formula One, the Aquaracer, the Carrera and the Monaco mainly.

My own first nice watch was a Tag. I still have it. It was given to me when I graduated from high school, and that’s the case for a lot of people. Is there a plan to move away from that entry-level luxury?

Are you planning on raising prices further?

Every year we are raising prices, and we also are introducing products at higher prices than generally they were before. For example, this Monaco skeleton is about US$10,500 when previously, the models were more like US$6,000.

Would you do a certified pre-owned programme?

How many watches are you selling annually these days?

We don’t communicate on the volume, but what I can say is that we are not growing through volume. The volumes are staying what they are. It’s really the value of the pieces we’re selling that’s increasing significantly.

And how are sales in terms of dollars going?

Double-digit growth, healthy in the past few years.

What are the most popular models by direct revenue?

The No 1 line for us is the Carrera, both the chronograph and also the three-hand steel-strap watches. The ones with the day/date complication are really bestsellers. But Monaco is growing very strongly.

What’s the watch – other than the plastic Formula One watch – that everybody wants you to make?

This was one of them [referring to the Skipper on his wrist]. I think what people are waiting for is the re-entry in high complications. And we are doing some small choreograph complications here – the flyback. But collectors, they’ll talk about the Monaco V4 [a concept watch from 2004] and the Mikrograph. They ask when are we going to introduce such exceptional, unique, differentiated complications – and we are coming back on the segments with a very strong proposition.