Baccarat CEO: Our Business in Russia is Beyond Politics

Sputnik: Maison Baccarat has been celebrating the tenth anniversary of its first ever store in Moscow with a fantastic exhibition of the legendary Zenith crystal chandeliers. Could you share more details about the key element of this exhibition?

Daniela Riccardi: Our exhibition is a fruit of our 10-year partnership with Mercury and the creation of this beautiful Maison Baccarat, the second in Baccarat's history and just as beautiful as the one we have in Paris. For many-many years Russia has been in the history of Baccarat, starting with the tsars. Some of our most beautiful creations have been designed for Russian clients and we still have beautiful Russian clients.

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This celebration is dedicated to all of us, those that have made these 10 years a success, to our clients who have followed us all over the world and in Russia; we have done some beautiful and unique things for this event.

Sputnik: The history of Baccarat has been closely related to the history of Russia. Even Russian emperors admired the creations of the House of Baccarat. How successful are Maison Baccarat's products on the Russian market now?

Daniela Riccardi: I'd say we're very happy with the business that we have developed. I think over and beyond the traditional clientele, we are also becoming interesting and relevant to the Russian millennials, the new generation of people that like to live in a glamorous world. And we are a glamorous world at Baccarat.

Sputnik: How important is the Russian market for Maison Baccarat? Why?

Daniela Riccardi: As I said before, we’re very attached to our history and to what we have created over many years. Again, this is the second [store] and the one that’s closest after the Maison Baccarat in Paris. As you know, I have lived in Russia for years, so I feel a bit Russian too. For me, it's a very important moment and the Russian market and the Russian clients are also very important. Our Russian clients are among the most sophisticated that we have in the world.

Sputnik: Have the ongoing tit-for-tat sanctions between Moscow and Brussels affected your business in Russia?

Daniela Riccardi: Not at all. I think that we're beyond [all of that]. We are almost history; we're beyond history and legends, so we're not very involved in political and non-political matters.

Sputnik: Would you say the House of Baccarat has been contributing to the improvement of Russian-French relations? How so?

Daniela Riccardi: I think it's a good representation of how these two countries have been linked historically and the collaboration that there has been. Both from times past to the modern day, I think French people are very appreciative of Russia because of the history and the culture — the ballet, the music, the literature and the theatre — cultivated people; and the French are historically known to be highly cultivated people that very much appreciate Russia.

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I think that the Russians travel to France a lot; they find a lot of proximity and beauty there. I think they inspire each other.