Girard-Perregaux commits to future built with its retail partners

Girard-Perregaux has assured retail partners they remain at the heart of its strategy in its first public statement since CEO and chairman Patrick Pruniaux led a management buyout of the business from Kering.

A press event at the company’s headquarters in La Chaux-de-Fonds this week focused on building the brand around its two core collections, the Laureato everyday timekeepers and historic Bridges family of dressier and more complicated pieces.

Kering completed the sale of Sowind Group SA, home to Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin, to its management team in January this year for an undisclosed sum, with the new chief Mr Pruniaux declaring: “We have the right setup and resources to implement a plan capable of ensuring the long-term development of both brands”.

At the press gathering this week, Clémence Dubois, chief product and marketing officer for Girard-Perregaux presented the progress being made with the Laureato.

Two fresh references hit stores this quarter, one a piece with a black onyx dial in 42mm rose gold watch and bracelet (£42,000), pictured below.

The other an addition is to the steel-on-steel core line with an £11,100 ivy green Clous de Paris dialed piece that will go on sale in November exclusively with Wempe before moving into worldwide distribution (pictured top).

Ms Dubois described how retailers will be at the heart of everything Girard-Perregaux does moving forward.

GP is working with its partners on the designs and positioning of new watches in a more coherent portfolio pivoted around the brands iconic Bridges and Laureato collections.

Unlike rivals such as Audemars Piguet, there will be no direct sales for GP other than through existing ecommerce sites for the UK and United States.

If there are any monobrand stores in the future, they are likely to be run as franchises by authorised dealers, although there is no confirmed road map at this stage.

“We are 100% wholesale,” Ms Dubois says. “We rely on working with the very best partners, the likes of Bucherer, Watches of Switzerland and Wempe,” she adds.

Gierard-Perregaux will limit its authorised dealer network to under 300 doors. Sales currently split equally three ways between Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and the Americas.