We discovered a whole new identity for Carl F. Bucherer at Baselworld with sumptuous golden tones and a new tag line “Made of Lucerne”. Why this change?
I joined the brand in 2010 and the first priority was to develop the collection, launch a new ladies’ collection (the Pathos), present new models in the ScubaTec and TravelTec lines for the Patravi collection and we started from scratch with the Manero line, which is today a full-blown collection. The story behind the brand has always been the same but it has become alive over the past few years. Now we portray it with a new, evolved, logo.
What is the highlight for 2016 from Carl F. Bucherer?
We have launched our new base calibre, the A 2000, which gives us a platform from which we can develop a new movement every other year. This lays the foundations for the next 15 or 20 years. We will also be opening our new production plant in Lengnau this year. We were able to buy the former Gucci timepieces building and we have rebuilt it over the past 12 months. It will be finished in May and we will open it in mid-June.
To what extent are you reaping the benefits of having decided to develop your own in-house movement?
To be active in the segment where we are, we simply had to have the capacity to develop and produce our own movement in-house. However, this is for a specific price range and I want to continue working with other partners on certain complications. We have already worked with the likes of La Joux-Perret and Vaucher Manufacture on certain movements and I would like to continue to do so, but it must always be a calibre that is exclusive to Carl F. Bucherer.
You are based in Lucerne, which is also one of the biggest cities in the world for watch sales. How important is your home city for Carl F. Bucherer’s sales?
Lucerne represents our heritage and is a very important place to sell watches. But for us it is not essential, since we do 40% of our business in Asia and 30% in Europe, which is in itself a huge advantage for us thanks to our excellent distribution network with the Bucherer group. We are in the best stores in all the major cities and we now have 70 doors in the USA. When I started at Carl F. Bucherer we didn’t have any points of sale in the US.
How was business at Baselworld for Carl F. Bucherer?
People who have been following the brand have seen things evolve and now see the culmination of our work. There were fewer people around at the show this year but I’m very positive.
What is your forecast for 2016?
Nobody can predict which way the market will go but as far as Carl F. Bucherer is concerned I think we have the potential to go up to 30,000 watches this year. The first two months of the year have been difficult but once our new production site is up and running my target is 30,000 pieces over the first 12 months. I am confident that we will achieve this over the 12 months from June this year.
