Eric Vergnes is just one of the 10,000 employees who work within the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) free zone in Dubai. The general manager for the Middle East branch of LVMH Watch & Jewellery, which falls under the luxury group Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, discusses life in the retail sector.
7am
We are covering the huge territory of about 20 markets, from North Africa to Turkey to the north, to Iran to the east, down to South Africa and part of Indian Ocean. [One] typical day would be waking up very early to catch an early flight and travelling all around the region. But if you're talking about a typical day within [JLT] then it's around 7 to be at the office by 9.
Morning
We have two brands currently within the premises - TAG Heuer and Zenith. I have a double cap: I am in charge of the office, but my daily routine is taking care of TAG Heuer brand for the region. There are two kinds of training that we do. The first one is about anything you need to know about a particular model of a TAG Heuer watch.
The other type is the art of luxury selling. I will exaggerate a little: today, you don't need a watch. If you just buy a watch to know the time, then look at your mobile phone. If you spend Dh50,000 (US$13,612) for a TAG Heuer watch [such as the one] I'm currently wearing, you buy it because you want a piece of history. You are dreaming about the timepiece for various reasons - because you love the brand, because the [celebrity] ambassador for TAG Heuer is always wearing it … But to convey this message properly, sales and boutique associates go through training.
Lunch
I skip lunch. When I'm not travelling, which is half of the time, I always do sport. It's a very important part of my daily routine because I need to somehow release the stress and bad energy I could accumulate. There is a very good Thai boxing dojo - two minutes' drive from here, within JLT. I go there almost every lunch time when I have time.
Late afternoon or evening
We're also organising all the marketing opportunities for the region. We had a big launch of a new collection organised at the Royal Mirage [last year]. In Beirut, we had a commemorative anniversary after one year of our first boutique in Lebanon. We had a huge event with [the Formula One star] Lewis Hamilton in Dubai Mall in November that we promoted heavily. We have very close links to [the rallying star] Mohammed ben Sulayem, and quite often we organise events with him when we launch a new time piece or phone.
7pm
Depending on how busy the day is, I try to finish at 7 to reach home so I can put my kid to bed and read him a bedtime story.
Evening
I just enjoy a nice dinner. I'm not a television person. I don't have television. It's more about reading and quality time with family.
