[Interview] Montblanc International CEO Nicola Baretsky

Montblanc has narrowed its collections to four, categorizing its watches in an easy-to-understand way. In 2021, the company made a clear focus on the Minerva collection. Nicolas Baretsky has been at the helm of the company since 2017.

Focusing on Minerva and finding a future in leather items

Nikola Baretsky
CEO of Montblanc International. Born in France in 1970. After graduating from HEC Business School, he became Marketing Director at Cartier in Singapore. After serving as head of the international department at the company's headquarters, he transferred to Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2002. In 2013, he was promoted to Vice President of Sales at Montblanc, a position he has held since April 2017. He is the driving force behind Montblanc's transformation from a specialist manufacturer of writing instruments to a lifestyle brand.

"By keeping the lineup comprehensive and simplified, Montblanc's watchmaking division was able to focus on storytelling around select hero products that customers could instantly identify with, and we've seen incredible success with vintage-inspired lines like the signature Montblanc 1858 Geosphere and the women's Montblanc Bohème collection." And by vintage, we mean Minerva.

"Minerva watches are instantly recognizable thanks to their distinctive design and details. Our goal is to nurture and preserve Minerva's extraordinary heritage in innovative and creative ways that we can share with watch enthusiasts and Montblanc customers. We tell stories inspired by past Minervas, and some models are meticulous recreations of historic timepieces, featuring movements designed based on past models," he continues.

"The TimeWalker collection has been dissolved and its sporty elements have been retained as part of the Montblanc 1858 collection. It's an exciting time exploring new models, new designs and creativity inspired by Minerva's heritage," said Baretsky, who is also looking to explore synergies with other fields in addition to Minerva.

"We believe our other divisions are likely to contribute to the growth of our watchmaking business as well."

　One of the other departments he mentions is leather items, which Montblanc has been focusing on in recent years.

"The leather goods business is a strong pillar for establishing Montblanc as a lifestyle maison in the luxury business. We recently appointed Marco Tomasetta as the new creative director of the leather department. He will draw inspiration from the maison's extensive archives to reinterpret and rediscover Montblanc's codes, making the leather category even more appealing." Indeed, as the importance of straps increases, Montblanc's advantage of being able to make leather products in-house is sure to grow even more in the future.

　Following Minerva, Montblanc has found its next growth driver. We will be keeping a close eye on how this synergy will manifest itself.