Last Thursday night Cairo was introduced to the concept of Smart Luxury, when Gc watches launched their new campaign during an evening that celebrated young Egyptian talents and the Swiss-made time pieces.
Cindy Livingston, the president and CEO of Sequel AG, the mother company of Gc watches, talked with Daily News Egypt about watches, life, philanthropy and Smart Luxury.
“Tonight we introduce our brand new, emotive signature to the Egyptian market, what we call Smart Luxury. We believe that this term describes the very essence of Gc; a smart combination of high quality, Swiss precision watches in fashionable designs for an affordable price,” Livingston said. “Gc is the bridge between the cheaper watches and the very high end brands and our customers are the young, up and coming stars of tomorrow. Our timepieces are fashionable, very well made and still affordable; wearing one of our pieces says you are on your way, you have taken the first few hurdles on your path and you have had your first few successes in the field of your choice.”
Large panels featuring stunning pictures and background information of four young Egyptians lined the walls of the venue. “When we developed our new concept we realised that our customers do not relate to George Clooney wearing our watch, he represents the height of success that is already accomplished. We decided we wanted our watches to be represented by the very people that choose to wear our brand; fashionable, young, very good at what they do: rising stars,” Livingston said. “So we asked the wonderful photographer Pino Gomez to travel around the world and take pictures of rising stars in all the countries that we are represented in. We expect to have a total of 125 rising stars from all over the world representing the Gc brand once the campaign is finished.” The culmination of the introduction of the Smart Luxury concept will be the compilation of all the images in a book to be presented at the Basel fair in April 2013.
“The secret to the success of Gc is partially because we have great partners around the world, like the Middle East Trading Co here in Egypt. Thanks to our partner’s dedication and enthusiasm about our brand Gc, is in the top 10 of units sold,” Livingston said. “Worldwide there are 35 Gc boutiques, including one here in Cairo, which allows us to have a strong presence in the market.” A second boutique is slated to open in May 2013 and the Middle East Trading Co aims to have four boutiques up and running before the end of 2014.
Livingston is unique in the world of luxury watches; there are no other women in her position. “I never felt that being a woman made things harder, I feel that my career has been a fascinating journey that allowed me to travel the world and make friends out of business partners where ever I go,” she said. Passionate about Gc, Livingston said the success of the brand also allows her to spend time on her other passion, philanthropy.
“We developed Time to Give, a charity component of our company, where we select charities in the countries where we are represented and support local initiatives that benefit those in need,” she said. “It is one of the wonderful parts of my job and we have been able to donate over $6 million to worthwhile causes and I am very grateful I am in a position to do this.”
