anel are a few of the retailers investing in a new address for their brick-and-mortar boutiques. After opening a new flagship in Sydney’s CBD at the end of last year, flying in its global ambassador, Hungarian actress and model Barbara Palvin, for the occasion, Longines started the new year with the opening of its sixth boutique in Australia. Bernardo Tribolet, Longines VP of marketing, sat down with Inside Retail to chat all things marketing and how the luxury brand plans to build its future heritage and grow its business. Inside Retail: Who is the Longines customer? Bernardo Tribolet: We cater 50 per cent to men and 50 per cent to women, which is something quite [unusual] in the watchmaking industry. That’s also one of the particular things about Longines and that’s quite special. We continue very much to focus on the classic and the sports side, but as you will see also within our boutique, we have these good value propositions for women as much as we have for men, and we’re very successful on both. IR: Does Longines produce unisex watches? BT: The design of the watches has to do with the heritage of the brand – at least the bases. But we’re very much aware, and again, we are talking about a global brand, that women like to wear what are traditionally considered men’s watches and vice-versa. So it’s more of a design style than actually being a unisex, male or female style. I think it really depends on the consumer, if you feel comfortable with it, just go for it.  There are several models that are more and more [being] tagged unisex. But for example, I could tell that in Spain, women are wearing what typically would have been considered a man’s Chrono watch, so it depends on different areas, different sizing.  The Chinese market continues to consume bigger-size watches while the rest of the world has been going smaller and smaller. This is also, of course, part of the curation of the presentation locally in different cultures. IR: What watch are you wearing today? BT: This is a Conquest Chrono, Champagne Dial, and this watch is a statement for me. It’s part of our Conquest collection that celebrated 70 years in 2024. IR: What does the Longines brand stand for? BT: Tradition, elegance and performance. Performance includes precision. And Longines has always been precise.  Elegance is an attitude, it is not about the what, but the how. I think we’re very much focused on how to enhance that attitude from different consumers, in a way, but still within our DNA, within our values and providing the best timekeeping timepieces we can for people. IR: What is the Longines’ future heritage? BT: Precision, tradition, elegance and performance will continue to be of the utmost importance. We will more and more express aviation from the past, although, of course, people these days, are not dreaming, as I did, of becoming an astronaut or a pilot or things like that.  We are partners with the International Equestrian Federation; we are the sole partner. Longines is not just about sporting events, we are there for the sports. So it’s not about the events, but we’re there for the sports in terms of all the points. We partner with federations that are really respected internationally, and we know that we’re on a high level of depth in the sports, that’s important. We are there to enhance and give more value to the sport itself, not just sponsoring a singular local event. IR: Let’s touch on the immersive shopping experience at the new concept boutiques, what’s unique and what’s your favourite design element in the new Sydney store? BT: My favourite design element is the collective store environment. The ambience is perfect. It’s partly because of the lighting, and again, the component of staff width. It’s a feel-good atmosphere, which is not really something material…that is the element. Immersive is also a huge word, but our staff make it immersive. We have the watchmaker bar, which doubles as a concierge bar. The boutique is full of references to the brand. There are references that make you dream because of the symbolism of these pieces. They’re just references to enhance the context of the watches.  The reference to equestrian sports and the link with aviation is clearly also there.  One very clear thing is the expertise of our staff is something super important in this immersive [space]. Further reading: How Tissot is changing with the times