From humble beginnings in Rome, started long ago in 1884, Bulgari has moved from a famous respected high-level jeweler that sold third-party wristwatches designed under commission and retailing other brands’ products in its exclusive stores to the vertical integration model where watches at all price levels are designed, constructed, finished and assembled at Bulgari’s own factories in Le Sentier and Neuchatel with case and dial factories in nearby Saignelegier and Neuchatel respectively.
This complex process of integration requires an effective and proactive management team, which in Bulgari’s case is led by Mr. Guido Terreni, who has a degree in Business Administration from Luigi Bocconi University in Milan, Italy in addition to solid experience within Bulgari for almost 18 years. As Managing Director of Bulgari’s Watch Division Mr. Terreni has met a fair share of challenges and enjoyed success at the helm. During the recent SIAR 2017 in Mexico City, WorldTempus caught up with him for a short interview about his vision and strategy for Bulgari.
The Italian design element is one of Bulgari’s key resources in its successful commercial strategy, how do you achieve this transfer of value to your products?
For Bulgari, every watch we design and build must be essentially beautiful, where aesthetics play a center role, that way emotion is teamed with advanced techniques so it can generate passion in its owner. Our Bulgari Octo collection, for instance, has a superb geometric masculine design with a powerful architecture that along with the decoration and the build of its mechanical movement places this watch further ahead of any other luxury piece in the market.
How important is for your customer the immense capacity as a Manufacture that Bulgari owns?
Being a Manufacture provides Bulgari with complete independence in the generation of our own designs and styles as a brand, we are masters of our own destiny and we have the freedom to pursue our own expressions and identity, at the same time, we are able to receive from our technical teams new ideas and concepts that we can execute without constraints.
Octo has become a runaway success for Bulgari, what is the appeal to customers and collectors that has produced this success?
The vision of an extra-flat watch with a new design code supported the elegant aesthetic of a different classical watch where we broke the rules by adding numerous planes and angles in an architectural concept, reminiscent of the great columns of ancient Roman temples. Our impression is that the Bulgari Octo watch, in its various models, has become a new reference among modern collectors.
What are your expectations for the Mexican and South American Markets?
Our presence at the SIAR is a confirmation of our desire to know and get closer to these relevant markets. We develop products for a global market perspective and we like to establish closer links with markets such as Mexico and Latin America to know their take in our designs and concepts as brought from our design teams.
