Swarovski hires former Diesel exec after rearranging its global teams

From three teams, to one. From three directors, to one. From three subsidiaries, to a single company. Swarovski is committed to a smaller structure in three of the most relevant markets for fashion in Europe: Italy for brands, Spain for retail and Portugal for supplying. The company has appointed former Diesel exec to lead the sales area of the three countries, which are managed jointly from Milan.

The company reorganized its entire global team two years ago, when it decided to stop working in regions to replace them with regional clusters that report directly to the headquarters in Asia.

 “It’s a different way of working to put the consumer in the center,” emphasizes Massimo La Greca, managing director of Swarovski Consumer Goods (CGB) in the cluster. The executive has not specified the current structure of the group’s b2b division, Swarovski Professional.

Swarovski has gone from considering Italy, Spain and Portugal as key European hubs to be a team managed from Milan

To lead the sales area of the Iberian-Italian cluster, the company has just appointed Sonia Moschino to as sales director. Moschino will be based in Milan and has twelve years of experience in Diesel, where until now she was head of retail in Europe.

Italy, Spain and Portugal is the third largest cluster for Swarovski CGB, only behind China and the United States and Canada. In Europe, the other clusters are France, the Netherlands and Belgium; Germany, Austria and Switzerland; and United Kingdom, Ireland and the Nordic countries.  

Specifically, Italy accounts for 5% of total revenue and Spain and Portugal represent together about 4%. This year, sales in this region will grow by 2%, according to La Greca. Swarovski does not communicate the revenues of Swarovski Professional and CGB separately.

New roadmap to conquer the youngest consumer

After the reorganization of the team, Swarovski has drawn a new road map to conquer a younger consumer. One of the areas of this strategy is the product, with more speed and emphasis on categories such as jewelry or accessories.

To gain speed, the company will launch its first two drops this campaign. In addition, lead time has been reduced from 18 months to 10 months. On the other hand, the company wants to continue expanding its distribution, fueling the online channel and integrating both channels. Currently, online sales represent between 5% and 6% of the total revenue of Swarovski CGB and in the medium term the goal is for that share to reach 10%.

The company has a strong brick and mortar presence. In the Iberian Peninsula, the group has 80 directly operated stores and 40 franchises, as well as 430 concessions in multibrand stores. The company its planning the opening of two new stores by the end of this year. In Italy, the group has 40 directly operated stores, 190 franchises and 600 multibrand concessions.

To communicate this new strategy, the company’s investment in communication will increase by double digit, and 20% of the budget will be invested online “without abandoning traditional media”. Finally, the group will transform its loyalty club next year, which will be renamed Swarovski Club.