Swarovski's Management: The Art Needs No Spokesperson

A brown curly hair, angular face, deep blue eyes, athlete's general strong body ... This is Swarovski founder's great-grandson, board member Markus. As a core management member of Swarovski, Markus recently told the "Daily Economic News" in Shanghai about his business.

Private brand is more innovative
"Each of Swarovski's products is devoted to the designer's efforts. It is not only a commodity but a work of art. Artwork is not needed and it cannot be said." Markus, 32, was in 2002. He joined Swarovski Crystal's Executive Board of Directors and is responsible for brand management and corporate communications.

He said that the secret of our brand management lies in the spirit of innovation and globalization strategy. As a private brand for more than a hundred years, Swarovski can not be stuck in tradition and glory, but also needs innovation and challenges. At the same time, it also has the advantage of innovation. Swarovski is a private brand and has more autonomy in business concepts and models. Markus believes that Swarovski should make breakthroughs in its products and no longer be limited to individual crystal products. Instead, it should be used in fashion, jewelry, and home furnishings. A classic example is the "Crystal Cloth" launched by Swarovski in 2003, which combines fabric and crystal stone and is highly praised by the industry.

"Direct + Join" sales model
Speaking about Swarovski's business model in mainland China, Markus said: “We use the self-employed approach in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou because we have our own office in these places. China is too big. We choose agents in other cities. Businesses, these agents have a deep understanding of the local market." Markus said that he will continue to open stores in cities without Swarovski, increase the number of shops in the existing Swarovski shop city, and hope to open larger Swarovski stores in major cities.

New products find design inspiration from China
In the Chinese market, people's favorite is still Swarovski jewelry. Markus said: "The jewelry products in the Chinese market account for 70 to 75 percent of Swarovski's overall sales. But the proportion of home-made products and some small gifts will slowly rise because the Chinese are getting more and more. Willing to spend money on their homes." He believes that in the Shanghai market, people are still more inclined to fashion jewelry series, and Beijing, relatively speaking, in the household consumption is slightly more.

Markus said that Swarovski, as an international brand, also incorporates a variety of cultural qualities. Swarovski 2006 new autumn and winter "Poetry Night" inspired by the concept of Chinese "Zen", with the main theme of the design of red and black, showing the charm of the East Asian women, should be very suitable for the Chinese market, but also Swarovski design A pioneering style. Swarovski expects sales to increase by 50 compared to last year.