Swatch Group’s chief executive, Nick Hayek Jr., is reported to have rebuffed a direct invitation from Rolex’s CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour to participate in Watches and Wonders.
Mr Dufour almost never gives interviews, but on the eve of W&W opening in Geneva, he told Swiss newspaper NZZ that he had visited Mr Hayek and other members of his family, with a view to Swatch Group brands taking their place alongside more than 50 watchmakers at this year’s event.
His advance was rejected, and when asked why, Mr Dufour replied: “I don’t know, I can’t see into Mr. Hayek’s head. He says the Swatch Group is very industrial and doesn’t want to waste time on exhibitions. It’s a shame, but it’s not my place to judge this strategy.”
His answer displays a tetchiness towards Swatch Group at a time when Watches and Wonders is trying to bring the Swiss industry together for a show of strength that resonates around the world.
At a time when Rolex continues to generate lengthy waiting lists for its watches, Mr Dufour is adamant that Watches and Wonders is still important, including for Rolex, because demand for watches is more fragile than many think. “[Watches and Wonders] is an important occasion for Geneva and for Switzerland in general. It is not a waste of time. We sell emotions and dreams. To keep this alive, you have to tell stories, you have to be active, you can’t just sell products,” he tells interviewers Andrea Martel and Chanchal Biswas.
The door may be open for Swatch Group brands to join Watches and Wonders, but with a cap this year of just over 50 exhibitors, most independents have been forced to hold showcases away from the main event at satellite events such as Time to Watches and a cluster at lakeside hotels such as the Beau Rivage.
Watches and Wonders Foundation has complete discretion over which brands can participate in the show, and decisions are made by just three companies: Richemont’s Cartier, Rolex and Patek Philippe.
While the foundation has been keen to position Watches and Wonders as a week to celebrate all Swiss watchmakers, Mr Dufour takes a dim view of brands riding on the coat tails of the main exhibition by holding presentations in the city.
“We call them pirates. But that’s okay,” Mr Dufour says.
Sounds like trouble in River City….
Seems contradictory, DuFour wants to unite the (Swiss) industry, but then by comment dismisses any brand they don’t select as “pirates”. And that’s saying nothing about many of the fine watchmakers from other countries. Perhaps I could suggest for his reading list, “Be More Pirate: Or How To Take On The World And Win”, by Sam Coniff Allende?!
I think he should have approached SWATCH with Thierry Stern and Johann Rupert, otherwise it looks like a Rolex autonomy.
Good for Swatch Group.