The 37 year old Nieto joined Baume Mercier
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The 37 year old Nieto joined Baume Mercier last October after working with Ebel as its international marketing director for about two years. His arrival at the firm was a homecoming of sorts, since Nieto had for the previous five years worked with the Richemont Group, Baume & Mercier’s parent firm, developing new products for the various brands it owns. He began his career in the watchmaking arena with the Swatch Group back in 1989 after earning both a degree in microengineering and business management.
Attracting Buyers North America is Baume & Mercier’s largest market, accounting for more than 25 percent of all its watch sales, which continue to expand, even though the brand is sold in fewer stores than it had been in the 1990s. Much of this, Nieto explains, is because of the attention given to the presentation of the full line of Baume & Mercier watches at the stores.
“We are very happy and have much success with the ‘shop-inshops,’ ” he explains, referring to the firm’s pearwood-and-glass watch displays in jewelry stores. “Today, a brand must be very visible and these draw the buyers to see the brand for what it is.”
These ministores have been installed at the retail level for the past three years, he explains. There are now nearly 110 in the United States, and the firm plans to build an additional fifty to 100 next year, he says. Each is constructed according to the needs and space limitations of the retailer but all retain the comfortable wood design.
“These displays are, I think, the best way to spend marketing money,” he explains. “They’ve been so successful with the first group of jewelers who placed them in their stores that now we get calls from retailers who would like us to place one in their store.” This a rare testament from retailers, who are typically very reluctant to open space up in their stores, unless they are convinced the watches and the display will sell more watches.
The focus timepieces inside those displays are the recently introduced Hampton City, the Hampton Spirit and the CapeLand series, which now includes a 1,000 meter diver watch with a bright yellow Kevlar dial.
These new pieces, which have been in stores since late summer, are already emerging as bestsellers. The Hampton Spirit’s screenshaped case, which last year appeared at select jewelers, paved the way for the current success of the Hampton City. The new model Hampton City retains the screen shape but with sportier variations for men and includes numerous ladies’ models that can sport a steel Milanese bracelet. The model with that bracelet, Nieto notes, was a runaway bestseller this fall.
“The U.S., with these watches, is incredible,” he observes. “We’ve had to reorder that ladies model a Hampton City with diamonds in late summer,” he notes.
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