Grand Seiko USA President Brice Le Troadec discusses the brand's strategy in the US

We had the opportunity to speak with Brice Le Troadec, President of Grand Seiko USA, about some fascinating things. Le Troadec joined the team led by Akio Naito, Chairman and CEO of Grand Seiko USA, in May 2017, just before the launch of Grand Seiko of America in the fall of 2018. This executive spoke in detail about Grand Seiko's brand strategy and why this Japanese brand is so appealing to collectors.

Brice Le Troadec, President of Grand Seiko USA

WatchTime:What are some of the most memorable highlights from your three-year career at Grand Seiko?

Brice Le TroadecOne achievement is the establishment of brand awareness and its steady evolution. Until around 2017, Grand Seiko was not properly recognized by American retailers and customers. However, I personally believed there was a fertile ground for enthusiastic acceptance. Thanks to Grand Seiko's core collector base and their influence among retailers and the watch community, the dramatic shift in brand awareness has been nothing short of amazing. Misconceptions about Japanese watchmaking quickly shifted to a view of a unique and hot brand, creating the perfect conditions for expanding interest among watch enthusiasts. In May 2017, I proposed a Grand Seiko to an important collector who had never purchased a Japanese watch before. After spending an hour explaining the uniqueness of the Grand Seiko brand, the collector was completely captivated by the Spring Drive movement and was convinced that if it was technology from a major Swiss group, he could sell it even if he added another zero to the price tag. From that day on, I focused on strengthening my efforts to educate customers about Spring Drive, and as expected, it was a huge success. The past three years since I joined the Grand Seiko team have flown by. The Grand Seiko US and Japan teams I spend every day with are some of the most energetic, passionate, and expert teams I've ever worked with, and I'm thrilled to be a part of them. Since 2017, the US has been a top priority market for management, and as such, the company has placed a tremendous amount of emphasis on it.

WatchTime:What kind of customers do you think Grand Seiko appeals to?

Brice Le TroadecLooking at the current situation, Grand Seiko customers seem to be very open to non-Swiss-made watches and place more importance on functionality and craftsmanship than on investing in the brand name. I believe Grand Seiko's appeal to new customer segments lies in its image, communication, and technical capabilities. While there is no specific profile or age segment data that identifies Grand Seiko's customer profile, what can be said across the board is that they have a genuine interest and understanding of watchmaking, a strong interest in the details and quality of Grand Seiko's finishing, and the uniqueness of Spring Drive technology. Therefore, Grand Seiko's customer profile is likely to be someone who is technology-oriented but also has a high aesthetic sense for appearance. We will continue to work hard over the next few years to deepen customer affinity with Grand Seiko and create a stage that will raise expectations for our portfolio. I believe we can achieve this by following the unique Japanese philosophy of "kaizen" and constantly striving to create the best Grand Seiko watches in terms of craftsmanship, aesthetics, precision, and accuracy.

WatchTime: Why are boutiques so important for a brand like Grand Seiko?

Brice Le Troadec"My mission over the past three years has been to raise awareness of the unique Grand Seiko brand among our business partners, the market, and our customers. We pride ourselves on having a deeper level of knowledge and understanding of our history and craftsmanship than other brands that are already well-known and have been successfully promoted. It certainly takes some effort for the market and our customers to understand the profound, albeit modest, value of Grand Seiko. Therefore, we focused on communicating the brand's core values, such as its culturally rooted perspective and Japanese artistic and nature-inspired inspiration. Grand Seiko boutiques are the first place where customers can discover these essences reflected in the design of our watches and the craftsmanship of our hand-finishing techniques, while also experiencing our omotenashi and dedicated hospitality." The decision to develop Spring Drive technology as a unique characteristic of Grand Seiko will require a highly technically challenging approach.

WatchTime:But why are mechanical watches attracting so much attention in this digital age?

Brice Le Troadec: A mechanical movement is a device that embodies life and the passing of time in a powerful, precise, and fascinating way. In Japan, there is a culture of gratitude and respect for the passing of time, as it symbolizes life. Personally, I think everyone needs to keep this in mind, and mechanical watches are the most traditional means of measuring time that have been involved in life for generations. The connection between people and mechanical watches is a very human one, far removed from the connection with computer devices, so I think the two should be distinguished as completely unrelated topics.

WatchTimeDo you remember your first watch?

Brice Le TroadecMy grandfather loved watches and was always fascinated by new technology. He owned beautiful, expensive Swiss-made timepieces that have now been passed down to my father. However, when Seiko developed the quartz watch movement, he became fascinated with this new technology. That's why the watch he gave me was a Seiko quartz model, and it was my first watch. I remember my first trip to New York in 1997. One of the first things I did on that trip was buy a quartz watch from a little shop on Fifth Avenue. Can you guess which brand my first purchase was? Yes, Seiko. Seiko has been in my background since early on, so it was natural for me to end up there.