Richemont Chairman Says Luxurious Watchmakers Should Reduce Manufacturing

The pinnacle of Richemont, the proprietor of Cartier and Vacheron Constantin, stated the posh watch trade should cut back manufacturing after a downturn in demand for expensive timepieces.

Chairman and founder Johann Rupert instructed shareholders on the Swiss luxurious conglomerate’s annual common assembly that international demand for watches “has gone previous the increase,” held again by subdued gross sales in mainland China and Hong Kong.

“One ought to be cautious in simply making an attempt to pursue quantity,” the South African billionaire stated in Geneva on Wednesday.

The Richemont chairman, whose manufacturers additionally embody IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Van Cleef & Arpels, applauded personal rivals within the watch trade for exhibiting restraint. The most important intently held watchmakers in Switzerland embody Rolex SA, Patek Philippe SA and Audemars Piguet Holding SA.

“We’ve got a detailed relationship with the personal rivals and we all know what they’re doing and they’re appearing very responsibly by constraining manufacturing,” he stated.

Though Rupert controls Richemont by way of a household belief that has a majority of the voting shares, the inventory is publicly traded and the corporate is required to offer detailed monetary updates. In contrast, intently held watchmakers in Switzerland “don’t have shareholders to report back to,” he added.

After three years of positive aspects at file worth ranges, Swiss watch exports have declined this yr. Shoppers turned cautious as pandemic-era financial savings ran dry following a interval of excessive inflation and as a robust Swiss franc raised watch costs and crimped income for producers.

Bloomberg Information reported final week that makers of watch parts and a few manufacturers are utilizing a Swiss authorities programme that enables them to furlough workers and cut back manufacturing with out everlasting job cuts.

By Andy Hoffman

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