We speak to Brice Tchaplyguine, managing director of TAG Heuer Asia Pacific, amidst the launch of the brand’s latest boutique in Singapore
“Sportive and elegant,” says Brice Tchaplyguine, managing director of TAG Heuer Asia Pacific, as he expounds on the Swiss watchmaker’s storied heritage and DNA.
In reality, one only needs to step into TAG Heuer’s latest boutique, located in Raffles City, to see this for themselves. Decked with motorsports memorabilia, and a curated collection of arresting photographs and literature, the boutique immediately immerses you in the brand’s history—an effect, Tchaplyguine tells us, isn’t accidental.
“This is how I see the connection with the customer,” he says. “The purpose (of a boutique) is not to push a purchase. It is to understand what the customer wants and what they want to talk about. This is how you build a relationship, and why we’ve built such a boutique.”
Interestingly, this slow-burn approach isn’t indicative of the agility Tchaplyguine has displayed in adapting to his new post in Asia Pacific. Only ten months since he’d left his previous role as the general manager of the Middle East region for TAG Heuer, Tchaplyguine has already made his mark in a number of countries, overseeing the launch of boutiques in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and now Singapore.
It is, of course, tempting to owe (or at least attempt to connect) this fleet-footed display to the brand’s adrenaline-fuelled legacy in motorsports. After all, when your watches have graced the wrists of racing icons like Steve Mcqueen and Ayrton Senna, it’s only natural to presume those involved with the brand are simlarly living life at full throttle.
Probe a little further, however, and it appears that the true elements driving Tchaplyguine are a sense of curiosity, and the ambition to bring forth a vision that adapts to the region’s customs and tastes.
“There’s nothing bad in saying, ‘I don’t know’ when you’re in a new country,” says Tchaplyguine. “To understand all the diverse cultures in Asia, you have to be very agile and very humble. This is what makes Asia Pacific very exciting, because there are so many things to discover.”
Besides the new boutique, Tchaplyguine also showed off the brand’s latest timepiece, the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon x Porsche Panamericana. A collaboration with Porsche, the limited-to-255-pieces timepiece evinces the brand’s ability to blend sports with elegance.
Framed by a black flange that acts as a minute scale, the dial—silver, skeletonised, and sporting a tourbillon at its six o’clock—resembles the wheel of a Porsche 550 Spyder. Add the asphalt-like textures found on the subdials and the chronograph’s striking yellow-lacquered hands into the mix, and you have a decidedly sportive timepiece that’s elevated by a high level of detailing.
“The watch pays tribute to the Carrera Panamericana race,” says Tchaplyguine. This is how we look to respect the brand’s heritage, by bringing some modernity, and creating an absolutely stunning watch.”
When asked to elaborate on how the brand intends to continue incorporating modernity into its heritage, Tchaplyguine answers, “Innovate. You must always innovate.”
While constant innovation sounds like a never-ending marathon, Tchaplyguine appears to be relishing his new role. With the launch of the new Raffles City boutique, the freshly minted managing director has now laid down a starting block in Singapore. Now it’s off to the races.
