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Paolo Marai: The evolution of time [Saudi Gazette, The](Saudi Gazette, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Mariam Nihal Saudi Gazette JEDDAH - Technology has made work faster than before but the speed in which one works nowadays has become more of a prison, Paolo Marai, president of Timex Group Swiss's luxury division said in an interview with the Saudi Gazette. Speaking about time and the evolution of technology, he reminisced about how time and luxury watches have changed across the world and in the Middle East. "Time is passing unfortunately, but I would say that still I have a very good memory of those days and the changes that we have gone through, I believe, are really significant which makes me think how we will be in the next 20 years from now," said Marai, who is also president and CEO of Vertime. "Just consider that back in 1986 when I started working for Thomson consumer electronics, there were almost no portable computers. I had a secretary who had to type out 5,000 greeting cards for Christmas and do them all over again for the next year. It was totally insane. "At that time my sister used to work for Apple computers and she was preparing the instruction booklets for Apple, so I used the machine to help out my secretary. At the time there were no mobile phones and no emails. "At the beginning I thought that these were all great advantages. Once I got my mobile phone and my emails started working,I could do it faster quicker and better." But he added: "Nowadays I believe it has become a kind of prison. You get an email and you may not reply because sometimes you are not available, then after 10 minutes another email comes saying 'you have not replied yet'. "It's turning out to be crazy, I mean the lead-time that people give themselves for replying is becoming shorter. It's not always possible but sometimes you need to search out the answer, you need to check the answer, you need to verify and people get impatient like everything needs to be done in 5 minutes. So I'm a little scared about the revolution what it's going to be like when it moves forward." Marai has worked for the world's most premium brands including Dior, Versace, Vuitton, Fendi, Kenzo and Salvatore Ferragamo among others. For a watch aficionado who can change his watch three times a day - each of which can cost a lifetime if not a limb, the man is humble and detailed, much like every intricate design on his watches. Far removed from extravagance, he spoke to Saudi Gazette about facets of some things that decode life, business and his humble beginning. "Today, our jobs are becoming crazier. But what is scaring me is the fact that the younger generation is born with this knowledge. When I see my kids with their blackberries or iPhones, (I can see) they know everything and how to operate it," he said. He recalled how about 20 years ago people used to design watches by hand, but now nowadays people start designing watches in computers with existing systems which, he fears, make the new generation less creative. "The machine is not inventing anything, its like assembling a puzzle but you are not using your brain, it is the computer brain that is working. Which might show that the new generation might lose certain creativity. "They may be much faster than we are, but with less creativity. And I believe that in our job, creativity is prime. Creativity helps us how to develop a market, how to attract the consumer. It can't be so that everything is marketed in a box while you can only chose the options; sometimes you need to be more creative." He said that when he came to Dubai in 2005, marketing of watches was set up by regional distribution, so their company just chose one big distributor which took care of product distribution for all regions. "I didn't think it was the right approach ... I gave up and decided to work with local distributors in Dubai, Qatar and other countries and see what we could do with the local distributors. In less than a year, we multiplied our business by 10 times and found the choice of working with one regional partner meant I didn't have to visit 15 different partners. I've to try yo be creative and try to think in a different way." He said that Dubai has made some unbelievable strides in the past 20 years to have grown to "everything from nothing". When there was a big economic crisis at the end of 2008 up to 2009, he said, nobody was betting on Dubai "because there was no fundamentals for a normal business". There was no certainty then if Dubai could bounce back. "Not only did they come back, I believe it is even stronger today than it was in the past. I think that possibly a lot of people have learned lessons. I believe there is a strong future for Dubai going forward," he said. "In Saudi Arabia, we work with Riyadh, we share a very strong partnership (with distributors). Our partner underlines my way of doing business regardless of the business you do. For me the distributor is a partner, he is just not a customer, he's not just somebody who buys my goods. You can buy, but if you don't have the right way to sell to the consumers it doesn't mean anything." To achieve this, he said he cultivates personal relationship with their partners. "Personal relationship among partners is very relevant for me," he said. Marai said he "would rather go back to the old days" in his business dealings. While many managers consider people as instruments of the company, he felt that "your people are a part of a family". He said: "When you have your people working for you, you have a serious responsibility." At Timex luxury division, he said, there are 45 of them working together like friends with a common responsibility. "I have 3,000 people reporting to me and I feel responsible for 3,000 families," he said. "It isn't easy ... you lose a bit of the personalized system. So within a small group of 50 people or 100 you know all of them. You can have a personal relationship with them. When you grow in numbers, you lose this personal relationship." But he said that as long as a manager tries to care for his people, the the relationship gap is narrowed. Before the 2008 financial crisis, his company was selling more expensive watches but since the crisis hit, the consumers have become more conscious with their money. "They are asking for more luxury yet at affordable prices." In the second part of 2013, he said they saw that consumers wanted to buy more expensive goods like it was "kind of a cyclical change", although it was not always the case in all markets. In Saudi Arabia, most of the consumers want affordable products locally, he said, but "we sell more expensive pieces when they travel outside" the country. He recalled that during World War II his grandfathers in Europe work as stamp collectors and passed on their livelihoods to their sons and nephews. "It was a kind of passing down of gifts. I invested all of my time, money and patience in building this up. I had planned my life working in companies whose products appealed to me," he looked back. When he joined Thomson consumer electronics, it was a very small company but he said that being a firm believer of "enjoying what you do" he worked harder than most of his colleagues. "You may be lucky or unlucky with your bosses; some may teach you a great deal. I was not that lucky in my career. You learn by your mistakes," he said. That means that he rose from the ranks. (c) 2014 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |