MAKING ITS MARK

Can 116-year-old Montblanc lure millennials and Gen Z consumers with edgy leather goods collabs and good old fashioned writing instruments? CEO Nicolas Baretzki outlines a strategy

A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, Montblanc tapped New York-based fashion label Public School for a new capsule collection of environmentally conscious luxury bags and accessories. Commenting on the series of five pieces fashioned from thoughtfully selected eco-conscious materials, CEO Nicolas Baretzki said, “We are known primarily for writing instruments, so when you see Public School’s brand commentary, when they say that ‘the pen(cil) is mightier than the sword,’ that rings a bell. That definitely inspired us.”

At its heart, style is a question of identity ‒ how we wish to portray ourselves and how we would like to be seen. With a collaboration like that, the authenticity stemming from a mutual commitment to products that are respectful to the environment is a powerful statement of personal values. At a recent roundtable at Four Seasons Singapore, Baretzki conveyed his belief that this is a huge differentiating factor for Montblanc and how it influences its choice of materials and storytelling in its original core businesses ‒ leather goods and writing instruments. Even its watchmaking ascendency sees a comparable strategy, inspired by the glaciers and mountains that surround its inspired namesake, tapping into its zeitgeist with a peerless Geosphere Chronograph Zero-Oxygen and its human incarnation, mountaineer Nimsdai Purja who conquered 14 peaks.