Watch distributor Ebauche, which distributes Welder, U-Boat and Chronoswiss, amongst other brands, has joined forces with Raidillon, a Swiss-made motor racing-inspired brand, to open Great Britain and Ireland.
The two companies have signed a three-year deal, committing both to a long-term partnership to make the brand take off over here.
Having teased the UK with an appearance at SalonQP last November, the partnership with the Richard Saffer-owned Ebauche is a key follow-up step for Raidillon.
Saffer will continue working with watch industry veteran, Laurie Milne, who sees huge potential for Raidillon to grow quickly, especially with the weight of Ebauche behind it.
Ebauche’s reputation has grown in the last couple of years, not just through partnering with growing brands like Welder and U-Boat, but also through the structure of the company. “Ebauche has transformed into a distributor without distributor rules,” observes Milne. He sees the company as offering the chance for brands to have a true UK partner, from sales to customer service and marketing and PR.
Raidillon was born in 2001 and pays homage to classic car races of the past, and the ‘55’ part of its branding represents the maximum number of vehicles permitted to take part in certain races. It is this number that is made for each model, numbered from 0 to 55, with the number 13 excluded due to the traditional superstitious nature of car racing.
“With the marketing and branding expertise at our disposal at Black Diamond, and with a product as beautifully crafted and unique as Raidillon’s, this is a special brand that can work well in some of this country’s leading retailers,” concluded Milne.
