NOUVEAU® recently sat down with Ulrik Garde Due, the president of Fiskars Living Business who joined the company last year, to speak with him about his plans for revitalizing the company’s luxury tabletop brands – including Waterford and Wedgewood – and how the division engaging with today’s evolving consumer. Here is a look inside that conversation.
NOUVEAU: You are known for revitalizing luxury brands such as Burberry, Celine and Georg Jensen. What key takeaways from these experiences are you bringing to your role at Fiskars?
Ulrik Garde Due: It’s about putting the consumer first whilst respecting a brand’s heritage and DNA. We need to attract new audiences to the brands we are reviving – specifically Waterford and Wedgwood – whilst servicing the current consumer. Fiskars has a very strong background in manufacturing and product development, with 367 years of heritage. We are looking at how we, with a consumer-centric focus, connect with consumers emotionally, whilst telling the brand stories in an engaging way that helps consumers understand the incredible craftsmanship and heritage behind the brands.
N: Is a progressive way of thinking imperative in the tabletop industry today?
UGD: We are on the journey to developing into global Lifestyle brand positioning. We need to connect with the global consumer with consistent communication in a rapidly evolving omnichannel environment online and offline.
To make our brands relevant, we must define and understand our consumer: their values, way of living and way of shopping. This is not just demographic information of age, gender educational status, etc. but it is also how they live, cook, dine and entertain. The contemporary home environment has become a relaxing, protected space and a break from busy lives. We live mainly in the kitchen, where cooking and entertaining is more fluid and flexible. All of this gives us opportunities to understand how the consumer evolves in making relevant products for them. For example, the way consumers indulge in a cup of tea today with the wellbeing aspect being important is quite different from how our parents did.
N: The buzz in the industry is all about creating an experience for the consumer. In what ways might some of Fiskars’ brand initiatives be reflective of this?
UGD: We will again this year have the iconic Waterford happening in New York with the Waterford Crystal Ball drop at Times Square – where we will be exploring how to make New Year’s a global Waterford moment that people can enjoy around the world.
With Waterford, we are also launching an Irish Castle Library Bar environment, which will cater to the consumer during the vibrant cocktail mixology trend.
We are launching the Wedgwood Tea Conservatory, an updated tea experience targeting Millennials, in May with the Royal Horticultural Society at the Chelsea Flower Show. This partnership aligned with our group sustainability strategy protecting nature and engaging with communities through nature.
At the flower show, our guests can experience our new Wedgwood Wonderlust tea range and discover tea and what it can do for your wellbeing.
In addition, we have created a Wedgwood pop up, which with our iconic blue gift box will be a true gift shopping destination where you will be able to experience Wedgwood lifestyle products in high-traffic areas of department stores or in other premium locations.
