Interview with Vincent SAHUC

Vincent SAHUC

2002 MSc in Management

Vincent SAHUC has been living in Hong Kong for 4 years. He is now Senior Brand Manager of the Luxury Division of the Marlox Group. We interviewed him recently and invited him to share with us his international and professional experience.

So, first question, what brought you to Hong Kong?

I came to Hong Kong because of my work. After graduating from EMLYON, I was working as Product Manager for Cartier Northern Europe in Munich. I worked in Germany for four years and then Richemont promoted me to Hong Kong as Product Manager for Cartier watches. It was a great professional opportunity for me as the luxury watch market in Hong Kong was much bigger than in Europe, and so the work was significantly more challenging. After a year or so, I was head-hunted by the Marlox Group, a Swiss group which partners with several fashion or lifestyle brands for the design, production, distribution and marketing of their watch and jewellery collections.

What do you do precisely at Marlox?

I’m in charge of the luxury division and I’m presently working with GIVENCHY. The Maison wanted to reposition their line of watches into the Swiss Made luxury segment in order to align it with their very exclusive and fashion-forward ready-to-wear and accessories collections. My job has been to lead this project from A to Z, starting with defining an original product strategy, building a dedicated team to handle the brand, finding luxury suppliers and new distribution channels, developing a marketing, media & press campaign to support the relaunch, etc. The new GIVENCHY Seventeen watch line has been launched in June last year in some of the most prestigious fashion temples worldwide including Barney’s in New York and Beverly Hills, Colette in Paris, 10 Corso Como in Milan, and in GIVENCHY’s flagship stores worldwide. The watch has generated a great buzz not only in the fashion world but also among the specialist watch critics, which is a fantastic achievement to me. Now we are working on enriching the collection with further creative designs.

What are the aspects you enjoy most in this job? And in the industry as a whole? How you see your long-term career developing?

Well, it’s very international: I am often on business trips to Switzerland, Paris, Dubai… But above all it’s very entrepreneurial and I’ve learnt a lot through the everyday work: product strategy, brand-building, business development, press and media communication, etc. You need to be multi-tasking, reactive, to take initiatives. It is all very, very enriching.

As for the luxury industry, I think for me the most attractive part is the products. I believe everything should always start with it. We are dealing with very beautiful and fine articles, created around some really incredible know-how. I think I’ll continue to work in this industry and, why not in a few years, use my acquired knowledge to become a consultant for brands wishing to develop their watch collections.

So if I understood correctly, you came to Asia because of the job at Cartier? Or had you already looked for job opportunities in Asia before coming here?

Totally because of the job.

So did you like Hong Kong when you arrived?

To be honest, at the beginning, I hated it! You know, Munich is a beautiful European city with a relatively relaxing life pace. During the first months in Hong Kong, I had a hard time adapting to the intensive rhythm and I really missed Europe.

Well it must be difficult…so how about now?

Now? Now I love my life in Hong Kong! You know for me the biggest challenge here was not the language, but the pace of life. Once you begin to adapt to it, you will really appreciate it: work hard, play hard. Also I have made many friends and that has helped a lot too. It’s such an intensely international environment, you meet people with very different cultures and backgrounds, and I love it. Moreover, in Hong Kong you have a lot of things you can do after work and you are never very far from nature. At the weekend, you can go boating, trekking, running… I run marathons. I also play cello in a local amateur orchestra.

That sounds fantastic! So, do you have any advice for young graduates who wish to come to Asia? Especially for those who are from the MSc programme in Luxury Management and Marketing?

You need to be courageous! You need to pack your bags, come straight here, feel it and experience it by yourself. If you want to develop an international career, Hong Kong is a good place to start. The work market is very flexible and you don’t have too much difficulty finding a job. As for the luxury industry, although we have witnessed some stagnation recently, there are still many brands doing well. The market is large and and the retail environment is top-notch.

Great, thanks for your advice! One last question: was your experience at EMLYON important for you?

Absolutely. During my time at EMLYON, I gained so much international experience. While at the School, I already did internships in Berlin, Munich and Switzerland. I also went to Melbourne for one year on an exchange programme. All these experiences enabled me to take on an international career today and I really appreciate that.