Omega, Blancpain, Breguet, Rado and Hamilton; all Swatch Group brands stocked by Bucherer, which will soon be contributing to the coffers of Rolex.
If Swatch Group is bothered, it is not showing it this morning.
In a response to WatchPro this morning, the company welcomes news that Rolex is buying Bucherer.
“We congratulate Rolex on this purchase, which was absolutely predictable and is also in the interest of the Swiss watch industry,” the statement begins.
“It is the best solution in view of the lack of a natural successor within the Bucherer family,” it adds, in reference to the global retailer’s owner, 86-year-old owner Jörg Bucherer, having no direct descendants to pass the business to.
Swatch Group’s view appears to be that keeping Bucherer in the hands of a historic Swiss business, even if that is Rolex, is preferable to an international takeover.
“Selling Bucherer to foreign groups or private equity firms would have been a very bad solution,” Swatch Group concludes.
Swatch Group’s share price was unchanged in early trading this morning.
