When the senior executives of luxury brands try to reach out to the young consumer, they typically have to make educated deductions about what’s cool to the latest emerging demographic. But Tag Heuer CEO Frederic Arnault does not have to guess — he fits squarely into the “young consumer” set at age 28.
The third son of Bernard Arnault — the world’s richest man and founder of luxury group LVMH — was appointed to the top position at Tag Heuer in 2020, after serving as the brand’s strategy and digital director for three years.
During an interview with The Peak at LVMH Watch Week, the scion smiles knowingly when asked about the brand’s renewed focus on activities such as Formula One and golf. In other words, activities that some other fine watch brands have moved away from in recent years, in favour of partnerships in areas such as sustainability.
Says Arnault, “When I joined the brand, people were saying, ‘Motor racing, oh, it’s a sport of the past.’ ‘Golf, it’s an old man’s game.’ But in the past few years, this has changed completely. (These activities) are now young, hip and cool.”
In a candid chat with The Peak, he elaborates on why these activities are trendy once more, how collectors help to shape new releases, and why sustainability is not a big focus of Tag Heuer’s marketing campaigns.