Hodinkee
Business News: Richemont: Coronavirus Wiped Out $880 Million In Sales In 3 Months
"No one can say when we will see economic activity normalize," Johann Rupert suggests.
569 articles · 1 video found · page 6 of 19
Hodinkee
"No one can say when we will see economic activity normalize," Johann Rupert suggests.
Hodinkee
A new GMT with a British Racing Green Mount Iwate dial.
Hodinkee
Rally-prepped Porsche not included.
Revolution
Revolution’s Editor-at-Large Ken Kessler takes a tour through the watchmaking classics.
Revolution
Quill & Pad
As Baselworld and Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) continue to evolve, change, and metamorphose, the various groups and brands continue to ponder how to best show their new watches to both retail and press. In an experimental trial run for a new-age solution, LVMH staged a small fair comprising three of its watch brands – Zenith, Hublot, and Bulgari – in Bulgari's Dubai Resort. Here's what we thought of the event.
Hodinkee
At issue is whether Sellita really will be able to compete with ETA in an open market for mechanical watch movements.
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Two hundred reporters, three days, six towns, six brands, zero Baselworld.
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The latest generation of Autodromo's rally-inspired watch gets some fuel-injected '80s flair.
Hodinkee
MGI lives in the watch market's toughest neighborhood. So how did it set record sales and profits last year?
The second largest luxury conglomerate in the world partners with Alibaba which commands 60 percent of China’s e-commerce market.
Revolution
Revolution
When thinking of Panerai, one’s mind immediately turns to the familiar Luminor and Radiomir, but cast your line just a bit further into the murky waters of the past and you may come across a model a little more unexpected.
Revolution
SJX Watches
The owner of brands like Omega and Longines, the Swatch Group just announced its results for the first half of 2024. The half-year numbers crystallised a slowdown that the watch industry has felt since late 2023. Revenue was down 14.3% to CHF3.44 billion, while operating profit plunged 70% to just CHF204 million, giving the group an operating margin of just 5.9%, compared to 17.1% from a year earlier. According to Swatch, the fall in revenue was “triggered by the sharp drop in demand for luxury goods in China (including Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR)”. At the same time, wholesale sales fell over 10%, indicating that third-party retailers are ordering less watches from the group’s brands, which in turn indicates the retailers’ pessimism for the short- and medium term. Swatch also explained the poor results by noting the group did not “make any redundancies… [and] maintaining all production capacities and not laying off qualified staff”. This was done so that “the Group [will] recover more quickly and benefit more significantly from the next upswing.” The progressively weakening positions of each of the group’s brands relative to the competition – marques like Breguet and Blancpain stand out in this regard – imply this might be overoptimistic. Notably, Swatch stated “the Swatch brand bucked the negative trend” thanks to the bestselling MoonSwatch, but this was not (and will not) be sufficient to help the rest of the group given the low value of Swat...
Monochrome
Recent financial statements by industry institutions and groups have been on the positive side, with what seems to be a comeback of growth, after a couple of rather difficult years for the watch industry. Indeed, Richemont reported sales up by 20% for its first quarter of 2026, the Swatch Group indicated sales up 8.5% in […]
Monochrome
Earlier today, we reported the increase in sales indicated by the Swatch Group (+8.5% at constant rate), which follows almost identical signs reported by Richemont about a week ago (+8% for Specialist Watchmakers and +20% in total, with a growth mostly driven by Jewellery brands). Now, it’s time for the Federation of the Swiss Watch […]
Monochrome
While we often publish articles in our Industry News section, those are mostly focused on the financial results of Swiss and/or European brands and groups, by looking at major actors such as the Swatch Group, Richemont or LVMH, the exports of Swiss Watches, or estimated rankings by Vontobel and Morgan Stanley/LuxeConsult. What we have never […]
Hodinkee
Prices rose for all major watch group brands as primary market prices climbed, but value retention remains weak for most Richemont, Swatch, and LVMH brands, according to the report.
Fratello
It’s October 9th, 2006, and this news flash appears on the Richemont website: “Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods group, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Fabrique d’Horlogerie Minerva SA in a private transaction from G. P. P. International SA, Luxembourg. The watch brand Minerva was established by Charles Robert in 1858 and is […] Visit A Deep Dive Into Minerva In The Montblanc Era to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Vacheron Constantin (VC) has just announced its Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) programme. Focused on recent VC timepieces, the CPO offerings will all be certified and serviced by the brand, and accompanied by a two-year warranty. The CPO programme will also allow clients to trade-in their VC timepieces for a new model. The CPO programme is making its debut with Watchfinder, the pre-owned watch merchant owned by VC’s parent company, the Swiss luxury group Richemont. In time to come, it will progressively be rolled out at VC boutiques, third-party retailers, and even auction houses. Each CPO watch will be accompanied by a two-year international warranty, a “Digital Passport”, and an VC guarantee letter. Watches sold through the CPO programme will be delivered in a VC pouch with a VC seal tag. Strictly speaking, CPO programme isn’t the first time VC is offering pre-owned watches. For several years, select boutiques have carried watches from Les Collectionneurs, vintage VC watches restored and certified by the manufacture. Practically all of the Les Collectionneurs watches are over 40 years old. On the other hand, the CPO programme is distinct as it covers more recent timepieces, including current models.
SJX Watches
Capping several months of rumours, Richemont has just announced the appointment of Louis Ferla as the chief executive of Cartier. Having been in charge of Vacheron Constantin since 2017 – during which its annual sales tripled to about €1 billion – Mr Ferla succeeds Cyrille Vigneron, who is retiring after eight years at the top of the jewel in Richemont’s crown. This news comes just weeks after Nicolas Bos was named chief executive of Richemont, the Swiss luxury group that also owns brands like Van Cleef & Arpels and IWC. Mr Bos was the longtime chief executive of Van Cleef & Arpels and will be replaced by Catherine Rénier, who’s been running Jaeger-LeCoultre since 2018. Elevating VC Officially assuming the coveted top job at Cartier on September 1, Mr Ferla has been with Richemont since 2001 when he joined Alfred Dunhill, before moving to Cartier in 2006 where he rose to International Director of Clients and Business. His tenure at Vacheron Constantin saw the brand increase both its sales and margins as the brand trimmed its retail network to focus on in-house boutiques, while also boosting its offerings of high-end, one-off Les Cabinotiers timepieces. Vacheron Constantin has yet to announce Mr Ferla’s replacement, but his deputy, chief commercial officer Laurent Perves, will step up as the interim chief executive. Mr Ferla’s name became the subject of conversations in the industry at end 2022, when it emerged he was one of the candidates to succeed Francois...
Quill & Pad
In 1995 Piaget, who was then part of the Vendôme group that would later become Richemont, entered the highest segment of the watch market by releasing a grande sonnerie wristwatch developed by François-Paul Journe. At the time, Journe was a freelance movement designer and hadn’t officially founded F.P. Journe yet.
SJX Watches
Taking place every two years in Venice, Homo Faber is an exhibition dedicated to craftsmanship of all forms, ranging from glass to porcelain to fabric. Because its organiser is the Michelangelo Foundation established by Johann Rupert, the plain-speaking chairman of Richemont, several of the Swiss group’s watchmakers are taking part. One of them is Vacheron Constantin, which is presenting a pair of one-off striking watches at Homo Faber – the Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeaters Ultra-Thin “Thunder God” and “Wind God”. The watches each recreate one half of Wind God and Thunder God, a pair of folding screens made by 16th century Japanese painter Tawaraya Sōtatsu that depicts the titular gods of Japanese mythology. Initial thoughts Owned by a temple in Kyoto, the folding screen is a National Treasure of Japan, a cultural object deemed so important by the Japanese government that it cannot be exported. The screen is certainly a worthy subject for a high-quality miniature, and Vacheron Constantin appears to have done justice to it. The dial decoration is perfect for a repeater, since the brand’s cal. 1731 minute repeater movement is relatively large, resulting in an expansive dial that is usually blank. It’s an ideal canvas for artisanal decoration. Vacheron Constantin’s enamel work, whether in house or done by independent artisans like Anita Porchet, is usually impeccable. The repeater dials definitely look the part. In fact, the miniatures of the gods are im...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] TimeWalker When current CEO of the Richemont, Jérôme Lambert, was appointed head of Montblanc in 2013, there was no doubt that the group was taking the brand’s watch production...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
The show finally pivots and the guys agree that this entire TBWS thing is simply a support group for folks that are completely insane... about watches. This week, we finally reveal the details about our 5k follower giveaway as Kaz enjoys some succulent Passover moscato. Delish. There's even a new Richemont brand that makes its way into the discussion this week!
Deployant
Vacheron Constantin is one of the three Grande Dames of watchmaking…the othe two being Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. Interestingly, it is currently the only one which is within a large group, in this case Groupe Richemont, which count amongst the members of its stable luminaries like A. Lange & Sohne, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre, Cartier,Read More
Fratello
On this summery Sunday morning, we dive into a Swatch Group battle. This week, we picked two dive watches from popular Swatch Group brands to determine which you prefer. Daan will back the revamped Khaki Navy Scuba Auto that Hamilton unveiled recently. The brand updated the dial design with new indexes and a wave pattern […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba Auto Vs. Mido Ocean Star 200 to read the full article.
Monochrome
Founded in Switzerland in 1918 by George Schaeren, Mido is currently positioned as an entry-to-mid-level Swatch Group brand, prized for offering exceptional value and robust build quality. Placing more emphasis on bolder design, Mido has sparked interest for its accomplished remakes of golden oldies like the Multifort TV Big Date and the Decompression Timer and […]
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