Covering all bases
Pilgrim’s latest watch collection continues the supplier’s strategy of providing designs to satisfy all consumer tastes. David Davies finds out more from travel retail manager Annette Møller Andersen
Two years on from debuting in the category, watches have become an integral part of Pilgrim’s travel-retail business. Although the Danish supplier is arguably still most closely identified with jewellery and sunglasses, Pilgrim’s watch line has both yielded a cluster of highly successful timepieces and helped to reinforce the brand’s overriding emphasis on distinctive, fashion-led design.
“The watch collection was the third product extension launched by Pilgrim, after the jewellery and sunglasses, and was a natural progression for the company,” Annette Møller Andersen, Pilgrim’s travel retail manager, tells Brands. “Like the other categories, watches are also fashion items, and people these days want to have more than one watch and have different design options, in the same way [that they do] with jewellery and sunglasses. Our strategy is to remain ahead of the design trends, creating a collection that appeals to all tastes through a wide and diverse collection, using the best materials, latest techniques and creative use of colour and striking materials, such as stone and leather embossing.”
Accordingly, the 23-piece-strong spring 2008 watch collection is suitably eclectic, albeit with a consistent focus on classical models. Highlights of a women’s collection said to combine “stylish and elegant” design with “delicate details” include a model that doubles as a combined bracelet and watch, and a design that combines a drop-shaped watch with a matt finish and a strap formed from slender, rounded leather cords.
“We have also followed up on last year’s hit by launching yet another design with a characteristic pattern on the dial and decorative Swarovski crystals on the bezel,” adds Andersen. “As a contrast to the feminine, there is a slightly masculine model with a wide leather strap decorated with rivets and prominent stitching.”
There is no doubt that the travel-retail watch category has become much more competitive during the last two or three years, and as a result any category newcomer faces a real challenge in first establishing and then maintaining a presence. In this regard, Pilgrim has been assisted by an emphasis on offering its watches to customers who already stock the company’s jewellery – thereby enabling the display of a complete Pilgrim offer – and the possession of a clear notion of its own place in the market.
“The category is really split between the high-end luxury brands such as Rolex and Omega, [and] the mid-range brands and the fashion brands which we fit into,” observes Andersen. “Pilgrim is all about fashion, but high quality manufacturing and material are still a crucial factor in our designs.”
Looking forward, this multi-faceted approach will be aided by a newly developed range of merchandising solutions for travel-retail, including a gondola that incorporates spaces for all three Pilgrim product categories. “With our new merchandising units being rolled out in 2008, we see huge potential to extend our watch offer with key customers and anticipate a further increase in sales for this category,” concludes Andersen.
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