Jean-Baptiste Maillard’s career has always revolved around luxury in some form.
Born in the Champagne wine making village of Reims, his first job was selling short TV shows to luxury brands.
The company would produce a series around the French concept of ‘art de vivre’, the merging of culture, lifestyle and historic luxury brands.
Jean-Baptiste’s role was to find those all-important luxury partners for the series.
From this experience, Jean-Baptiste developed a strong passion for watches and so he decided to put his knack for sales to use in the world of horology.
He was first recruited by Chopard as sales director in the UK, before being transferred to the US to look after the North American market.
One of his many career highlights took place during the covid pandemic, when he managed to secure a boutique in the incredibly prestigious Crown Building on Fifth Avenue in New York; it was a goal he had been working on for a decade.
The US market has been good for Chopard, delivering rapid growth since October 2020.
In general, the US market has been very dynamic, which has led many of Chopard’s competitors “to increase their speed”.
Jean-Baptiste has ensured that Chopard is keeping up.
“A real, but positive, challenge has been to try and stay ahead when it comes to brand building and market shares,” says Jean-Baptiste.
“We have very much fine-tuned our marketing strategy to be as impactful as possible in all key locations.”
His focus on strategy and branding has led Chopard to team with celebrities, including Julia Roberts for its Happy Diamonds campaign.
Jean-Baptiste advises: “A brand’s strategy makes a real difference in a market, and while many are well educated on brands and products, the brand’s hard work makes a difference in converting clients.”
Chopard’s stellar strategy, he says, is down to teamwork: “All efforts each team member makes towards a shared goal makes a difference. Hard work is the key to success.”
