With an investment of almost Euro 25 million, the Swiss Group aims at building an automated plant for its strongest Jewellery Maison, Cartier. The Plant will be operational in 2023.
Turin, the capital city of Piedmont region is well known for its Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-classical, and Art Nouveau architecture. Many of Turin’s public squares, castles, gardens and elegant palaces were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. Also, the history of Italian fashion started in Turin at the beginning of the twentieth century. Right from the start, the city demonstrated the excellence of Italian know-how with its hand-crafted textiles, tailoring traditions, and craftsmanship. These elements have truly shaped the Italian Fashion Industry into a symbol of elegance and refinement across the globe. Turin has also been a hub for Italian handcrafted jewellery with a long history. And some iconic brands have set up base in Turin.
The Swiss luxury giant, Richemont Group’s Cartier is now setting up a Manufacturing Hub of 12000 meters in Turin, which will employ around 300 employees. The hub will be based at Basse di Stura, in the western suburbs of Turin. Cartier in the strongest brand of the Richemont group, from the point of view of revenues indicating sales of around Euro 6 billion. The construction of the new plant is aimed to be completed in 18 months.
According to the Press Release, Richemont Group is investing approximately Euro 25 million in this new plant and this will be a big boost to the entire supply chain of the Region. Especially since the jewellery supply chain has suffered huge losses over the last year due to the Covid Pandemic. The goal of this colossus of the jewellery sector is to start a modern and highly technological production in the city. In short, the Swiss holding (former owner of Montblanc, Van Cleef and Buccellati brands) intends to increase its presence in Turin , exploiting the considerable strengths of the Italian workforce and the quality of Made in Italy.
About Richemont
Richemont owns a portfolio of leading international Maisons recognised for their distinctive heritage, craftsmanship and creativity. The Group operates in four business areas: Jewellery Maisons, namely Buccellati, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels; Specialist Watchmakers, namely A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis and Vacheron Constantin; Online Distributors, namely YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP (NET-A-PORTER, MR PORTER, YOOX, THE OUTNET) and Watchfinder & Co.; and Other, primarily Fashion & Accessories Maisons, including Alaïa, Chloé, dunhill, Montblanc and Peter Millar. According to the Q3 Trading Update of Dec 2020, the group saw 14% sales progression at the Jewellery Maisons, supported by good jewellery and watch sales at Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. Sales grew in all regions except Europe, and across all channels. The Group’s net cash position at 31 December 2020 amounted to € 2.9 billion (2019: € 2.4 billion).
Image Credits: Richemont Group, Geneva, Switzerland