Another one in dire straits - Vulcain reducing staff by over 50% and looking for a buyer...

Dec 09, 2016,11:43 AM
 

In addition to the recent news of Breitling looking for a suitor and Richemont laying off staff, it seems that Vulcain is finding itself in troubled waters, too.

They seem to have laid off 7 of their remaining 12 staff and it appears that their owner - Excellence Holdings - is looking to offload them.


From: AZ Fine Time Blog

It is indeed tragic for the employees and very unfortunate that a producer of such iconic lines like the Cricket is faring so poorly.

Let's hope for a benevolent white knight taking it under its wing soon...

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Fully agreed!

 
 By: KMII : December 9th, 2016-11:49
I also hope the crisis will not weed out too many of the small players...

Common trend for those "stuck in the middle"

 
 By: alphabeta81 : December 9th, 2016-11:57
2 camps on each end - Big conglomerates with costs spread over many brands (Richemont, Swatch) - Independent artisans with loyal customers (Kari, MB&F) Those in the middle like Vulcain are in trouble and I think very very very few survive. One could argue... 

I fear you may be right!

 
 By: KMII : December 9th, 2016-12:04
It seems to lack the scale and at the same time does not sell in the price range to ensure survival with small numbers. I do hope someone snaps them up, even if I am far from sure it will happen...

Well put. Sad but inevitable.

 
 By: Bounce781 : December 9th, 2016-13:04
Shame for vulcain though. Great watches

That they did / do...

 
 By: KMII : December 9th, 2016-22:54
Some of the Crickets have been really cool...

Nice brand , but the problem is that there are way too many brands out there

 
 By: Bruno.M1 : December 9th, 2016-12:32
before the Quartz crisis there were about 1000 Swiss watch brands After the terrible Quartz crisis only 200 or so survived Today there are again 1000 Swiss brands .... not saying 80% will go bankrupt .... but there will follow a lot more As a positive not... 

Not just too many brands but

 
 By: bill5959 : December 9th, 2016-18:24
The overload of heritage releases is daunting. You just cannot keep making the same thing every year and expect the dogs to eat the dog food. Richemont is the best example. Do you want a watch because of the name and pay $50000 when they also sell a watch... 

The heritage releases...

 
 By: KMII : December 9th, 2016-23:05
Have been successful for a while but now it\'s time to balance them with a larger fraction of more innovative watches again. Retro / heritage / tributes tend to go in cycles and constantly beating the same drum is bound to function only for so long...

Well said, and very true

 
 By: Tim_M : December 11th, 2016-05:56
Excessive caution has led to a profusion of watches that bask only in reflected glory and create no new legends of their own. The heritage releases are cynical after a point and attempt to coax nostalgia to secure a sale when imagination fails. But if the... 

Very well put! [nt]

 
 By: KMII : December 11th, 2016-07:18

Let's hope that the period of consolidation will lead to that...

 
 By: KMII : December 9th, 2016-22:57
And not to a conservatism that will stifle experimentation and innovation. Did not know that the quartz crisis culled so many...

Never mind, found it

 
 By: logan2z : December 9th, 2016-16:48
https:

Several places...

 
 By: KMII : December 9th, 2016-22:59
Bloomberg, Handelsblatt & some others.

I agree that the growth has not been of the fully sustainable nature...

 
 By: KMII : December 9th, 2016-23:00
Still, would be great if a buyer was found for Vulcain.

Trust me ;-)

 
 By: Alkiro1 : December 10th, 2016-00:49
Best wishes Alkiro

Your new job? ;) [nt]

 
 By: KMII : December 10th, 2016-01:33

You planning to retire sooner? :)

 
 By: KMII : December 10th, 2016-02:07
But reassuring to hear that there is a future for the brand!

15 or 20 years would be nice :-)

 
 By: Alkiro1 : December 10th, 2016-03:08
Best wishes Alkiro

Sounds OK to me :) [nt]

 
 By: KMII : December 10th, 2016-04:24

May god hear us ;-)

 
 By: Alkiro1 : December 10th, 2016-04:58
Best wishes Alkiro

+1! [nt]

 
 By: KMII : December 10th, 2016-05:38

;-)

 
 By: Alkiro1 : December 10th, 2016-08:43
Best wishes Alkiro

The Swiss Watch Industry can survive...

 
 By: SALMANPK : December 9th, 2016-18:53
and thrive and there is room for all these brands, they just need to pivot a bit and understand what we as collectors and consumers need and want. If they continue to churn out the same pieces over and over and over again then they only have themselves to... 

Thanks for your reflection, Salman

 
 By: KMII : December 9th, 2016-23:02
I agree with you fully. But it has also been difficult for brands to turn away from approaches that have been successful for the last two decades and to try new things instead... They will need to, though.

Sad to hear this.....

 
 By: blomman Mr Blue : December 10th, 2016-02:04
I was very happy to see Vulcain re-energized a few year's back with a lot of interesting watches and some great re-editions of old icons! Best Blomman

Let's hope it all works out in the end :)

 
 By: KMII : December 10th, 2016-02:09
We all wish them to survive it seems... and how could it be different with Purists?

This is the reason of the global economic disaster...

 
 By: Makilla : December 11th, 2016-02:24
it's not only happening to watches manufacturers but many other fields as well. Looks at the jewelry and other high end products. Same thing is happening and very fast as well. Small independents might not be able to survive this time. The way I see it is... 

However unpleasant it is...

 
 By: KMII : December 11th, 2016-03:31
You may be right. There may be many more that are endangered, sadly. As the industry is often quite not particularly transparent, it is hard figuring out as an outsider, who is most at risk. But tough times ahead...