Q&A with Kent Wong, managing director of Chow Tai Fook jewellery group.
Chow Tai Fook acquired the Hearts on Fire luxury diamond brand in June 2014 for $150 million as part of the jeweler’s strategy to expand its high-end product range.
One year later, Rapaport News sat with Kent Wong, managing director of Chow Tai Fook, at the recent Couture Show in Las Vegas to discuss the brand’s integration and other developments at the Hong Kong-based jewelry company:
– Rapaport News: What does Hearts on Fire bring to Chow Tai Fook?
Hearts on Fire is complimentary to Chow Tai Fook because it’s a premium luxury diamond brand that has been in the industry for decades.
Chow Tai Fook can benefit from Hearts on Fire’s experience in developing a luxury brand. It has excellent jewelry design and brings more of a global vision to our design team.
The company now has two powerful brands in two important consumer markets. The first is Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, which is a Hong Kong-based brand focused on Greater China, and the other is Hearts on Fire, which is a U.S. global brand. With the Hearts on Fire acquisition, you can say that Chow Tai Fook has become a global company.
– Will it require different strategies to grow Hearts on Fire in the U.S. and China respectively?
From a branding position, Hearts on Fire is a U.S. global brand. So all product development, storytelling and marketing is controlled by the team in Boston.
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We might have some localization in terms of the marketing campaign because the platform to access one’s target audience may differ in each market. However, the storytelling will be consistent and developed in Boston.
We unveiled a new advertising campaign in Las Vegas that we will be rolling out globally in September. We will provide television, print, video, outdoor, social media and digital marketing for our retail partners around the world to leverage in their local markets. There may be small local customizations but the platform will be consistent and will look similar in every retail location around the world.
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“Our research shows that about 70 percent of women in China’s Tier I and Tier II cities, want to receive a diamond engagement ring.”
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