By their own admission, The Devoy Group’s business ethos is to keep things simple with an open dialogue, nurturing honest partnerships and continuously working closely with its partners — a mix of ingredients sure to delight the brands it currently represents.
With an exciting line up of brands including Qlocktwo, Pasquale Bruni, Cyrus, Czapek & Cie, Bianchet, Giuliano Mazzuoli, Ikepod, Encelade 1789, Swiss Capsule, Pierre de Roche, Sequent and Bomberg, The Devoy Group has a diverse offering which seems to be working not only for the brands in terms of distribution, but from The Devoy Group’s point of view in luxury management too.
The passion put into the business from both Penny and Andy becomes clear when speaking to the brands, a topic which prompted WatchPro to delve deeper and find out more about what it is like to be working with The Devoy Group.
First though, is the product, and 2023 looks to be an exciting one for brands within the group.
For Czapek, a recent 2022 launch was the Faubourg de Cracovie Aventurine chronograph, which the brand itself described as “a watch with a sparkling dial to mark a sparkling year”.
However, reflecting on that, Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie, explains that it wasn’t all shine and glamour.
“Part of the year was more like a black hole than a starry night,” he said.
“Supply chaos put the last ones in the chain, the watch manufacturers, in a dramatic situation. We found ourselves with a component missing to finish each and every watch and a total unpredictability. We reached the bottom at the end of the summer with only one watch delivered in September, yet we recovered in the last quarter achieving the highest productivity level in our history.
“The aim for this year is to keep the rhythm of Q4 2022 and turn it into a regular pace in 2023 and to get close to 1,000 watches completed.”
Mr de Roquemaurel went on to add how 2022 was a tumultuous one, describing it as, “amazing, terrible, fantastic, horrible, joyful and painful”.
“It was the year of contrasts and extreme situations,” he says. “A year that we were eager to see finish in December, but in a couple of years we will remember it as one of the best. That’s the paradigm of insanely big challenges. It started with a rise in demand and in stock-outs, and continued like this all year long with unprecedented situations.”
Another staple of The Devoy Group is Cyrus, which recently launched a new edition of the Double Independent Chronograph Evolution from 2021.
The Dice Racing re-model has been a commercial success with its flamboyant Red Cordura bracelet, according to managing director, Walter Ribaga, who said: “For Cyrus, the year 2022 was a record year with an increase of 35%.”
Taking a closer look at Ikepod, 2023 will see the return of Swiss-made calibres — the first ones since 2018 — with the Skypod that uses new-old-stock La Joux-Perret movements.
This has been helped by steady growth and interest in 2022 as the brand gets more attention from big collectors.
And for Qlocktwo, things look set to move even faster in 2023 with the establishment of a new office in Dubai as the business works towards a goal of internationalisation post-pandemic.
Qlocktwo’s continued distribution in the UK relies on The Devoy Group continuing to perform at a high level, with Jens Adamik, the brand’s managing director, telling WatchPro he has complete faith in exactly that.
“We see The Devoy Group presenting Qlocktwo in a high-quality way. This demonstrates an in-depth understanding of the brand, but also a genuine passion for and conviction towards our objects. We find the Devoy Group a trustworthy and competent partner in every respect.”
In the UK, customers can purchase online directly as well as from our retail partners. The objects have different delivery times due to their specific manufacturing processes in Germany.
Some objects, such as the Qlocktwo 180, are handmade to customer specifications. “The focus of our collaboration with distributors is on the on-site point of sale,” explains Mr Adamik.
“Together with our retail partners and distributors, Qlocktwo is presented in a framework that suits the customer’s needs and offers the best possible experience.”
Trust and keeping those relationships strong has been absolutely key for The Devoy Group from the outset and is, of course, top of the agenda for brands when working with them.
On the benefits of partnering with them in the UK, Mr de Roquemaurel told WatchPro: “Again, it is all a matter of relationships. Deciding to work together was based on gut feeling. We connected, had similar views of ethics in business and the beauty of watchmaking, and that was enough to tie the knot. Andy has been the prophet of the early hours, which were tremendously difficult.
“Selling each Czapek was then a challenge but he didn’t give up, neither did we. And step by step we built based on trust, transparency, perseverance and sense of humour.” On the distribution model itself, he says: “Our culture is based on true and respectful relationships, and partnerships are probably one of the best illustrations of a very good working relationship.
“We believe that if our company is growing fast today, it is because of a culture of working hand-in-hand and of sharing experiences. Local retailers can bring a lot of knowledge and incomparable service to customers, and we respect and foster this. Yet at the same time Czapek was also re-born thanks to direct sales.”
“These direct sales to customers allowed us to get to know watch collectors’ expectations and how to address them. We became experts in making bespoke watches thanks to these relationships and the derived openness. Today we are present in Leeds, London and Glasgow. Another large British retailer is interested in the brand and we might consider working with them.”
This works in a similar way to Cyrus, which has very selective targeting through collaborations with partners that are just as passionate for exclusive, high-end timepieces. Mr Ribaga explained how it is a model that works well for the brand and allows more collectors and aficionados to be able to purchase the watches.
Commenting on his UK distributor, he added: “The Devoy Group has a long experience of the UK watch market and knows the retail channel well. This guarantees Cyrus a professional approach to the market, specifically in line with our target of a selective distribution.
“The group works with exclusive retail partners and offers excellent training and sales support, which is very important for us as a high-end niche brand. The growing success of our brand in the UK is the proof that our collaboration is working well. The communication and activities are perfectly in line with our objectives.”
Prior to working with The Devoy Group, Mr Ribaga says that the brand only had contact with partners and potential partners a few times a year, which was not enough to establish a rapport and sufficient exposure. This points to the fact that relationships are what distribution is built on, and while technology can work to an extent, the need for close personal relationships are key.
Ikepod’s Mr Col concurs: “Quite simply, we need a savvy team in contact with retailers and local press. We believe in old methods where the distributor knows his country better than us,” he explains. For him, working with The Devoy Group is the ideal partnership. “We have a mix of expertise and accumulated experience of the country and industry,” he says. “We speak the same language about the brand, and we can trust [the Devoy Group’s] decisions and actions to deliver regular orders.”
It is this which has played a vital role since the Ikepod gen3 relaunch and new ownership structure, Mr Col saying, “We do not directly address HNWI or end consumers like in the past. The UK is a huge potential market but it is very difficult to approach without a subsidiary or local team. A good distributor is a big help.”
As the problems caused by covid are slowly but surely put in the rear view mirror, the next step is to continue to capitalise on what has been achieved over the past few years. Andy and Penny are perfectly placed to be able to deliver on that but, of course, each brand is unique with different end goals and, given the experience behind its distribution and luxury management model, The Devoy Group looks set to continue to deliver exactly what is required.
For Qlocktwo, Mr Adamik emphasises the importance of looking into the future, saying: “Our ambition is to make time timeless. This includes not only the concrete point in time — the capture of the moment — but also that of larger, more comprehensive processes that reach beyond the moment. This is what is planned for the near future. Our reinvention of time is not yet complete.”
For Czapek, ensuring the exclusivity of the brand remains paramount, while growth is still crucial. On plans over the next three years, CEO Mr de Roquemaurel, says: “We do not want to open too many doors, or have too many clients. We want to keep the luxury element and the pleasure of calling everyone by his or her first name.
“Quantity was the fate of the last century, now our destiny and goal must be quality, even if that means scarcity. We’ll probably have a presence in another British city and maybe in a Welsh one, and we’ll most likely intensify our presence in London.”
Whereas for Cyrus, product remains king. The next three years will see the brand develop new and creative timepieces to appeal to watch collectors and aficionados. Expanding retail distribution organically will also be an important facet of the business to feed into that model.
