French luxury brand Cartier has been watching the appetite of European luxury brands grow across America during the pandemic. The company is ready to capitalize.
The jewelry and watch-making company is planning to expand its presence in the United States, Bloomberg reported. The company is eyeing the addition of 10 stateside stores in the coming years.
Cartier seems to be taking notice of the pandemic-era trend of wealthy US residents expanding their horizons from traditional coastal enclaves like New York City and Los Angeles. The company is considering opening stores in Seattle and Austin, even Troy, Michigan.
It won’t be abandoning its roots, though, potentially opening stores close to some of there existing locations. Early next year, the Richemont-owned brand is opening a store in Soho, adding to the company’s presence in New York City, where a flagship lives at 653 Fifth Avenue.
As it stands, Cartier operates 30 stores in the United States. Within the next five years, Cartier chief executive Cyrille Vigneron said the brand could bring its presence to include 40.
Vigneron cited “a growing appetite from American customers for high-end products” in recent years as rationale for the expansion, according to Bloomberg. U.S. e-commerce accounts for 10 percent of Cartier’s revenue in the country, the largest share of online sales for any nation in the world. Overall, e-commerce accounts for 8 percent of Cartier’s revenue worldwide.
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It’s not just America. Cartier is looking to increase its 270-store footprint around the world by 10 percent in the next five years.
Other retailers are looking to add to their physical presence, hopeful there’s an appetite for consumers to resume in-person shopping in the wake of the pandemic.
Ralph Lauren revealed last week it was accelerating a growth plan. The company is planning on opening 250 stores in the next three years, doubling down on its direct-to-consumer business as the fashion company pulls back from department stores and off-price exposure.
— Holden Walter-Warner