BRING A TASTE OF EUROPE TO THE CANADIAN MARKET
Tresor Paris’ original and accessible designs have made the company a great success across the pond.
by Irina Lytchak
In today’s enormous and continuously growing jewellery industry, many companies and brands must aggressively work toward setting themselves apart from the rest.
It seems that Tresor Paris has been able to find that “it” factor, especially in North America, where the brand is currently booming with clients and retailers alike. Inspired by the sophistication that is Parisian style and born in the heart of London, Tresor has quickly garnered a global following for its lavish, innovative and accessible designs.
“I think our reputation is our biggest asset,” says Salim Hasbani, business development director at Tresor Paris. “We don’t just produce some products and hope for the best. We keep very active because you’ve got to have fresh minds, new ideas and unlimited designs.”
A TASTE OF HISTORY
Hasbani comes from a lineage that’s been a part of the jewellery and diamond business for more than a century. The Hasbani family established a reputation for designing and manufacturing fine gold and diamond jewellery for several decades and, by the turn of the century, Salim had decided make a change that would better accommodate the modern consumer.
“The reason for Tresor Paris was purely to move with the times, to move with the economy,” he says. “In 2009, we decided to go down the crystal route because of the worldwide economy and the recession. Not everybody could afford a half a million pound piece and that’s why we came up with this concept where we manufactured a full crystal bracelet that was affordable.”
The Tresor Paris trademark came to fruition around 2001, starting in the UK, with the help of Hasbani’s brother-in-law, Maurice Lousky, managing director at Tresor. The brand was officially launched and marketed in late 2009. Today, Tresor Paris runs the gamut, from designing the jewellery pieces to manufacturing and distributing all around the world.
“The majority of the business, I would say over 95 per cent, is done directly with us,” explains Hasbani. “We own the rights to the brand,
we make our own designs, and we do basically everything from start to finish.”
THE SIGNATURE PIECE
At the time of its inception, Tresor Paris launched its first line, the Orion Collection, along with the infamous Monaco bracelet, and that is when Hasbani says the brand really took off.
“We wanted to produce something that is elegant and stylish,” he says. “That’s how we came up with the idea of using semi precious stones; they have the glamour of the diamond, but come at an affordable price.”
Since then, the Orion Collection has grown to feature hundreds of various styles and pieces, spanning a vast array of colours and materials to accommodate a wide range of clientele.
Hasbani says that Tresor Paris’ target audience for the affordable range of crystal products runs from the ages of seven to 77, adding that his wife and even his grandmother, who is 94, wears a Tresor Paris bracelet.
“Realistically and from the figures that we have, I would say our biggest audience is between the ages of 17 and 45. But really everyone is our client. Everyone is our consumer.”
GLOBAL EXPANSION
Having cemented itself in the UK, Tresor Paris made a move across the pond several years ago and has since developed a strong presence throughout a number of retailers across Canada. Hasbani says that he hopes the Canadian market will be just as much of a success for Tresor Paris as the UK was, where the brand now retails in close to 2,000 shops.
“The growth just happened so quickly,” explains Hasbani. “And I think the reason was that people had faith and trust in us. They knew what they liked and they saw that the company was a family business. It took about three to four months before we were in 400 shops.”
After expanding into Canada and securing clients in countries like France and Spain, where there is a very huge market for the brand’s crystal bracelets, Tresor Paris moved into Australia and the US. The brand anticipates for Canada to become one of its largest clients.
There are many factors that can be accredited to Tresor Paris’ success, including a strong marketing campaign, social networking, celebrity ties and charity work. But most importantly, it appears to be Hasbani’s perseverance and passion for a business that he’s been a part of for quite some time.
“What keeps me passionate is what I do,” says Hasbani. “I’m a workaholic and I love the demand from customers. I know that consumers love our products and that’s what keeps us going.” CJ
