Editor’s Note
Bulgari is making significant strategic shifts, completely exiting jewelry wholesale and halving its watch dealer network. This move underscores the brand’s focus on direct control and a more exclusive retail experience.
According to FashionNetwork, the Italian high-end jewelry brand Bulgari has completely ceased the wholesale business of its jewelry line and will further reduce its watch business dealer network to half of its current size.
Bulgari, currently part of the French luxury group LVMH and a flagship brand under its jewelry and watch division, has sold its key jewelry collections exclusively through its directly-operated retail boutiques for many years since its acquisition by LVMH in 2011.
Starting in the spring of 2018, Bulgari further reduced its partner dealers, reclaiming its most affordable “B.zero1” and “Bulgari Bulgari” jewelry series.
Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin stated,
Bulgari plans to halve the size of its watch dealer network within three years, “from selling in 600 multi-brand retail stores previously, to 300.”
This strategy began implementation a year and a half ago and is scheduled to achieve its goal in another year and a half. Babin emphasized, “This is a process of seeking the best partners.”
As Bulgari already sells watch and jewelry product lines separately in the Asian market, Babin stressed that Asian dealers can therefore rely on the watch business for profitability.
Bulgari’s fragrance business previously also entered the market through agent channels. This reduction of the dealer network also includes Bulgari’s fragrance business. It is reported that the number of wholesalers for Bulgari’s fragrance business will subsequently be reduced from the original 24,000 to 18,000.
According to LVMH Group’s Q3 2019 financial report, Bulgari maintained strong organic growth momentum, consistent with growth in Q1 and Q2. In the first three quarters, the watch and jewelry business grew organically by 4%, with revenue of 3.2 billion euros, driven primarily by the jewelry business.
LVMH Group CFO Jean-Jacques Guiony stated that reducing the dealer network did have a certain impact on Bulgari’s performance, and “the plan to shrink wholesale channels is still ongoing in the fragrance and jewelry businesses, and we will work to minimize the impact.”
Bulgari is currently accelerating its digital channel layout. Since launching its e-commerce platform in the US in 2006, Bulgari now operates direct e-commerce channels in 8 countries.
Jean-Jacques Guiony said.