The November issue of Wallpaper* features a story on the latest digital phenomenon of premium brands jumping on the broadband bandwagon to sell luxury wares online.
Like many of these luxury brands, Boucheron was late to the web. In September, that all changed with the launch of one of the most comprehensive high-end e-commerce sites of any jeweller. Here, exclusively on wallpaper.com, chief executive of Boucheron Jean-Christophe Bédos, explains:
When you were looking at your online strategy, where did you start?
A year ago, we looked at e-commerce from a very high-end jewellers’ point of view and we noticed first of all that there is nothing new about e-commerce, so let’s be honest and realize we were late. Secondly, we realized luxury is also not new on the web,
But the consensus I found was that very high-end jewelers and watchmakers consider e-commerce a taboo. You don’t find any Swiss watchmakers online selling their watches.
Why was that?
What we found was, either you have a conservative dogmatic position about e-commerce where you think it’s dangerous to your brand, or you have a very defensive attitude where you say: we have to be considered to be a modern brand so we'll build an e-commerce site but we’ll only sell our [lowest] price, commercial range.
Boucheron had always taken the conservative view. What changed?
[We decided that] we should have a client-centric approach, not a brand-centric approach. This change of angle changed the paradigm around e-commerce for high-end luxury.
How are your customers behaving online?
The wealthy people in the world buy very comfortably on the web. They have access to the latest technology and they see no taboo, no limits. These people often say 'My luxury is time.' They don’t have time to come to the stores so we have to come to them on the web. We looked at the market and we were reading the pieces telling us how much the wealthy enjoy the web. So I said: 'Come on guys, we have to belong to the twenty-first century and not the nineteenth.'
Having decided that, what was your approach to the new site?
Firstly, that our customers should not feel any frustration on Boucheron.com. Also, that it should offer the same services, such as made-to-measure and customisation, that we offer in our stores. The main question for us was what technology would allow us to put all our services online, and we realized we had to use the best on the market.
So what does the new site offer?
As an example, if you like one ring from Boucheron, you have to be able to choose the colour of the gold you’d like the ring in. You have to be able to choose the stone and also the size of the stone according to your budget. Also, on every page we have a telephone number. Should you decide to, we can process the transaction with a team of personal shoppers. It’s a way to provide a service for the comfort and privacy of the client.
Did you study other websites while designing yours?
We were very influenced by examples like Nike, where you can design your own shoes. The luxury goods client doesn’t want to buy the same watch as their friends any more. Now it’s the exact opposite: everyone wants a product for themselves.
INFORMATION
To read the full article, buy this month's issue of Wallpaper*, on sale now.
- Website
- http://www.boucheron.com/
