Horological Meandering

AnthonyTsai
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Vincent Perriard May 2007: President of Concord Watch Company - An American Brand from Switzerland

An American Brand from Switzerland:
PuristSPro talks to Mr. Vincent Perriard,
President of Concord Watch Company

by Melvyn Teillol-Foo

© May 2007

Concord Watch Company S.A. was founded nearly 100 years ago in Bienne as a manufacturer of high-quality watches with thin movements, particularly for the American market. After World War I, Concord was known as a jeweler extraordinaire with private-label gem-encrusted platinum watches for Tiffany & Co, Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier.  President Harry Truman even presented a Concord Ring Clock – first portable eight-day winding travel alarm clock – to heads of state, including Churchill and Stalin at the Potsdam Conference.

Other horological achievements include the world's thinnest analogue watch in 1980 – the Delirium IV (<1mm) and one of the most expensive watches available in 1995 – Saratoga Exor. Since the late 1990s, Concord became perceived as just a glitzy watch brand, albeit with a glamorous profile on Hollywood red carpets and in the Oscar gift basket for Academy Award presenters and winners.

On the eve of their 100th year anniversary, Concord appointed Mr. Vincent Perriard as President in 2006. Mr. Perriard kindly shared his thoughts about Concord's future with PuristSPro (PPro).

 







































PPro:   How did you come to join Concord?
VP:  By pure coincidence! I have received a phone call from Mr. Grinberg's office on a Friday night asking me to meet with Mr. Efraim Grinberg, CEO of the MGI Luxury Group. I had to meet him on the next Monday, right after the weekend. We discussed. After 1 hour of sharing visions about the watch industry, he told me that he wanted to re-energize the brand, worldwide and make it aspirational again. He offered me the position. 48h later, the deal was done. I started 2 months later, in June 2006.  

PPro:  Tell us a little about your prior experience in the watch industry.
VP:  My experience in the watch industry really started in 1995, at Audemars Piguet. Prior to AP, I worked for 5 years in the marketing & communication agency named Trimedia. I have worked in the Geneva, New York and Lausanne offices.

I started in January 1995 at Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus. The communication & marketing department did not exist at that time! The entire communication work was outsourced with an advertising company based in Geneva. So my mission was to create an in-house resource for the marketing and communication needs, worldwide… Big challenge.

And obviously, the first need was to create a strategy because – at that time – the brand was really running disorganized marketing and communication tools. There was little control of AP's image worldwide. Audemars Piguet was running different logos, different corporate colors, and different merchandising systems (displays, etc.).

Step by step, we had to hire new people, new talents. The communication department became much more organized with an experienced team dedicated to build the new image of Audemars Piguet.

In 1997, under the lead of Georges-Henry Meylan, we started the repositioning of Audemars Piguet, worldwide: new redesigned logo, new corporate colors, new merchandising concept, new advertising concept, new organization, new agency (pitching with the best creative agencies in the world) creating the new image of AP (Euro RSCG), new distribution strategy with a new Store concept, etc…

I have lived through an incredible time, where my team and I have laid the basis of a new and successful brand. Redefining the DNA of such a prestigious Manufacture and building a really disruptive marketing program was highly exciting.

After 5 years at AP, I wanted to go back again abroad and have an experience outside of Switzerland. I had the chance to meet with Mr. NG Hayek, President of Swatch Group. I was supposed to meet him for 10 minutes only. We spent more than 1 hour. At the end of the discussion he offered me to go the next day to New York to meet with the Hamilton team. At that time, Hamilton was led from New York (which was the only brand in that situation since the others were led from Switzerland). I really left the next day to discuss with the NY team. 1 month later I was in NY, in charge of repositioning Hamilton worldwide, reporting to Mr. Hayek in Switzerland. It was an incredible chance. The Swatch Group wanted to bring the brand back to Switzerland and to make it aspirational again.

After almost 2 years in that position, I felt it was time to create my own business. From New York, with my associates, we defined the concept of an agency named Brand DNA, offering consulting services for high-end / luxury brands willing to rethink their position in the marketplace. Brand DNA was born in New York, with its main office in Paris and a second office in Geneva. Our first client was… the Swatch Group! We ran cK watches, Hamilton and Swatch marketing programs and consulting advice.

PPro:  What was your impression of Concord during your time with Manufacture Audemars Piguet, Swatch Group, and 'Brand DNA'?
VP:   I knew Concord for quite a long time. I always thought it was a "sleeping beauty" for the last few years. I remember the time where the brand launched the "Be Late" campaign, which was really impressive at that time because the brand was really ahead of its time with a disruptive message, really different with the industry's typical approach of heritage, tradition, etc...

So when Efraim Grinberg asked me about Concord, I was really pleased because I knew the brand had a great potential. Efraim Grinberg was really motivated and convinced it was time to re-energize the brand, so I knew it would be an incredible chance for me to participate to such adventure.

PPro:  As a new chief executive, what will you change and how will you be measured?
VP:  Well, I think that you start to have an idea (i.e. the Basel Fair 2007). With my team, we are totally transforming Concord to a much more daring, unexpected and edgy brand. We are bringing Concord back in the high-end luxury scene. We have the objective to make the brand an international reference; therefore we will have to rebuild markets where Concord has no distribution anymore (that's the case for many markets in Europe).

The new Concord will be launched in Winter 07/08 worldwide. That means that you will discover the new brand identity and character in approximately 6 months. The brand is totally re-invented: product, marketing, and distribution.

Efraim Grinberg is not interested in aggressively growing the sales. He is interested to reshape Concord as an exclusive brand with high profitable standards. In other words, he gave me the mission to make the brand a "princess" within MGI Luxury Group's portfolio. 

PPro:  The perception of Concord as a "watchmaker" has swung through the whole spectrum in the past, with notable movements and some less so. As a career marketeer, what is your vision for Concord in the horological firmament?
VP:  Concord is really clear now. The brand's DNA stands for Modernity; Know-How; Unexpected; Daring; Edgy. We are not a brand with a true watchmaking heritage and/nor tradition. In the 70's, when we created the flattest watch in the world (i.e. Delirium), it was not about "watch tradition" really. It was much more about a team of engineers able to create a daring and unexpected piece! It was all about creating the ultimate watch construction to welcome such a thin movement. It was not about "heritage" and "tradition": it was about an incredible and true know-how.

So Concord's vision is to bring back these values and aspirations. We will – from now on – create ultimate watch construction pieces. Our watches will bring high added value with their construction and complexity. The C1 collection is the first example. Next year, for our 100 anniversary, Concord will launch the C2 and bring this concept even higher.

PPro:   How do you see Concord positioned relative to the other brands in the Movado Group, particularly as Movado was actually bought-in by the owners of Concord?
VP:  Concord is really connected to the Grinberg family since the early 70's. It was the first purchase of Mr. Grinberg and therefore, the brand remains deep in the heart of the group as the "princess" brand. The brand belongs (since its birth) to the high-end luxury world. But Concord has lost a little bit of its prestige over the last few years.

When you see MGI's portfolio, there is absolutely no doubts: Concord is at the top of the pyramid (see diagram).   

PPro: With Concord's recent heavy emphasis on glamorous fashion watches, what is your client demographic now? Does it match your "ideal target product profile"?
VP:  We do not want any segmentation by age. With the level of our new products, we are manufacturing timepieces around the US$10,000 mark. At that level of price and with our strategy, positioning and product strong character, we will "talk" to the aficionados, the collectors. Those people that are travelling the world, those people that already have many other watches. Those people that are reading specialty magazines or reading PuristSPro.com ! [Editor's note: Or even ThePuristS.com]  The age is not an important factor anymore.

PPro:   Some watch brands are strongly 'male' or 'female'; what gender is Concord? Is there any 'side' that Concord wants to get in touch with?
VP:  Concord has built a 50/50 appeal over the last decades thanks to products appealing to both genders. As you know, there is an important acceleration of business in the male watch business. With the C1 we take a strong step into the gents gender, for sure! However, we anticipate balancing the future Concord with a 70% male / 30% female spread.

PPro:   Perceived as an American brand from Switzerland, are you content to dominate the Hollywood, Scottsdale, and Sarasota scenes?
VP:  Of course, Concord keeps a really high awareness and reputation in the US. But as you also know, more and more American clients are looking for true international brands. By moving the HQ back to Switzerland, MGI has decided to build a strong brand statement worldwide and not only appealing to a few markets. Therefore, the need to reshape Concord is necessary today to make the brand much more international vs. "just" American.

PPro:   Concord is credited with having kick-started the Swiss quartz fight-back by partnering with ETA in the 1970s. How important is it to Concord to develop vertically integrated manufacturing capability?
VP:  We are very proud of our Delirium piece, the flattest watch ever made. The incredible pioneering spirit of that time; the almost legendary engineers building this watch allow us today to build a new chapter of Concord's history: we will put our energy and know-how behind every single watch built in Switzerland.

As for the watch movements, we have decided to remain exclusively automatic for our Gents watches. Since the watch case construction will always be a performance for the new Concord, we had to find the equivalent in know-how for the movements. Therefore, we are building strong and unexpected partnerships with the best and most daring watchmakers in Switzerland. You can expect the unexpected with our 100 anniversary next year in 2008. Both the watch construction and its movement will be unique and will push the limit of the watch industry to a new level.

PPro:   For the 90th anniversary (1998), Concord produced a remarkable casket of 6 musical carillon minute repeaters for ladies and gents. Will you be exploring complications in general production and also for the centenary celebration?
VP:  Yes… oh yes! You will see this in BASEL 2008.

PPro:  Where does the new C1 fit in Concord’s road map i.e. is there a game plan for your product pipeline and existing lines?
VP:  Yes, there is a game plan. We have already our product plan for the next 3 years. It will be built on the C1 collection (first presentation in BASEL 07, but actual deliveries for Winter 07) in 2007 and 2008. The C2 will be introduced in the second hald of 2008… and the C3 will arrive 12 to 18 months later. We will work with the line extensions from these 3 key collections (C1, C2, and C3).

Our movement plan is also ready with unique and limited series… 

PPro:   What does the Concord slogan, "Style Defined" mean to you, and how will watch buyers or collectors see that meaning expressed in the future?
VP:  Style Defined is the old slogan of Concord. The brand's image will change during the Winter 07 with the introduction of a totally new Concord (new product, new brand identity, new image, etc.). We are working today (May) with Russell Porcas, one of the most respected and talented photographers in the world to shoot our new campaign. You will discover it in Nov. 07…

This interview was conducted through electronic correspondence. 
PuristSPro would like to thank Vincent Perriard for taking the time to answer our questions, and we wish him and Concord - the best of success.

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  We welcome comments, suggestions, and corrections to this interview. 


© May 2007 – Melvyn Teillol-Foo and PuristSPro.com - all rights reserved 

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