Brand Names / Bulgari seeks new luxury markets
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Italian jewelry brand Bulgari has been an international favorite for more than 120 years.
More recently, it has expanded its business beyond its core products of jewelry and watches. It now sells perfumes and leather goods, and even runs hotels.
The brand was born when Sotirio Bulgari, a Greek who emigrated to Italy, opened a silversmiths in Rome in 1884. His two sons, Giorgio and Costantino, created unique designs reflecting Roman classicism and the Renaissance, which were instant hits.
In the 1970s, the brand began expanding abroad and opened stores in France, Switzerland and the United States. The brand’s renowned Bulgari Bulgari watch was released in 1977.
This was followed by the launch of perfumes in 1993, and silk goods and sunglasses in 1996.
The holding company Bulgari S.p.A. went public in July 1995, accelerating its business expansion. It opened a hotel in Milan in 2004, and its second hotel is to open this summer in Bali.
Bulgari products have been sold in Japan since 1987, and Tokyo-based affiliate Bulgari Japan Ltd. was established in 1991. It runs 33 stores–including new stores opened last autumn in Ginza, Tokyo, and Shinsaibashi, Osaka–and it accounts for 26 percent of the group’s worldwide sales.
Francesco Trapani, chief executive officer of the Bulgari group and chairman of Bulgari Japan Ltd., says the firm’s success is thanks to high expectations in Japan.
“As Japanese people are very quality-conscious, we release new products or test new distribution channels here,” he said. “We plan to open a new type of shop in the near future.”
