The first ever Salvatore Ferragamo Timepieces collection has docked at our sunny shores, and DivaAsia is impressed with  the comprehensive range of colours, materials, movements and the understated elegant style so becoming of the Italian luxury house.

DivaAsia speaks to Mrs Valeria Azario, Regional Marketing Director of Ferragamo, Hong Kong Limited to learn more about the brand’s first chronometer offering.

Q: Luxury brands such as Versace, LV and now Ferragamo have recently been strengthening their focus on Asia. Why do you think this is so?

A: Ferragamo has actually been in Asia for over thirty years but there is still a very strong growth potential across many sectors. As the economy of these countries continue to grow, so do the number of consumers and I think you’d have to be blindfolded to not pay attention to Asia.

Q: Salvatore Ferragamo is an Italian brand with its origins in Tuscany. Do you face cultural barriers when marketing its very Italian taste to the Asian market?

A: I believe the Ferragamo customer is pretty well-travelled so we do not design or add products for Asia. The newer generations in Asia are almost frightening, that is, at the speed in which they have learnt about traditional brands and made them their own. But in Asia, we possibly have a younger profile of customer, so we buy accordingly.

Q: Why has Ferragamo decided to launch their first timepieces collection now?

A: In 2008, we celebrated 80 years Ferragamo brand so it seemed a particularly fortuitious time to launch our timepiece collection. Hence we’ve named one of our watches ‘F80’ as a celebration of that occasion. Timepieces also marry the profile of luxury brands, as they look at technology, evolution, materials as well as women and men from different price points. It gives us the opportunity to extend the Ferragamo world for existing Ferragamo fans as well as attract a new customer base.

Q: The timepieces have largely been inspired by Ferragamo's signature products. Tell us more about this inspiration.

A: We have 4 main watch families at the moment – F80 inspired by Ferragamo’s eightieth anniversary, Vara (pictured above) inspired by our horseshoe buckle, Gancino inspired by the fastening on our handbags and Salvatore, the name of the brand. We have also drawn inspiration from the watches when designing new products. For example, the F80 timepiece has inspired a new range of entry-level handbags, the ‘F80 Bag Collection’. It’s been a great integration from the watches into what is one of our core categories - handbags.

Q: How do you think the current economic slowdown will affect the reception to the watches, especially in Asia?
 
A: It’s having an impact on what we were expecting, but if we didn’t have watches, our stores would be even further impacted. It’s good to have something new in these times so we have a stronger argument for loyal customers who want an additional Ferragamo experience and for new customers that would come through a new product category as well as a new channel of distribution.

Q: What does Ferragamo have in store for Asia in the upcoming years?

A: We are passionate about Asia and we are definitely still growing in many of the countries. For example, we’ve just started with India and we’re beginning to touch tertiary cities in China. We can also do more in Taiwan and Korea. There will be new areas where we can go in and additional products.

» Insider’s look at Ferragamo timepieces

Salvatore Ferragamo Timepieces are available at Salvatore Ferragamo and Cortina Watch boutiques. Prices range from $1,600 to $78,000.