cazalea
[Seiko Moderator]
17046
Maybe it's having a 3-letter acronym for the brand, because IWC went the same way
just a little bit earlier, and from a different position as the "Engineer's Watchmaker." And it's not just watches; look at this list from Wikipedia of the companies controlled by Richemont:
The following companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA.
SUBSIDIARIES
A. Lange & Söhne — watches; based in Glashütte, Germany
Azzedine Alaïa — women's fashions; based in Paris, France
Baume & Mercier — watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
Cartier — jewellery and watches; based in Paris, France
Chloé — women's clothing; based in Paris, France
Dunhill — men's clothing, watches and leather goods; in London, United Kingdom
Giampiero Bodino — high jewellery; based in Milan, Italy
IWC Schaffhausen — watches; based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Lancel — leathergoods; based in Paris, France
Jaeger-LeCoultre — watches; based in Le Sentier, Switzerland
Montblanc — writing instruments and watches; based in Hamburg, Germany
Officine Panerai — watches; based in Florence, Italy
Peter Millar — men's and women's apparel; based in Durham, NC, USA
Piaget — jewellery, watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
Purdey — firearms, ammunition; based in London, United Kingdom
Roger Dubuis — watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
Vacheron Constantin — watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
Van Cleef & Arpels — jewellery, watches; based in Paris, France
JOINT VENTURES
Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewelry Co. (50%) — watches, jewellery; based in Geneva, Switzerland
YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP — ecommerce; based in Milan, Italy
More posts:
Where is JLC headed as a brand?
Good afternoon, I'd be very interested in hearing from the more knowledgeable people here their thoughts on the future of the brand. When I first became interested in mechanical watches (around 2011) JLC was one of the brands that I started to like thanks...
Spot on with all your observations
The greatest flaw Richmont Group have made was eliminating caliber 849 in non precious metal. I don't believe you can walk into a JLC store and find a manually wind without it being a complicated precious metal. Basically JLC post Jerome Lambert has gone ...
Same old same old
I don’t see that JLC is doing anything different. They’ve always had a (slightly frustrating) habit of turning over their lines with some regularity. Keeps things interesting I suppose. One thing you can be sure of is that if you don’t like anything in th...
Perhaps...
JLC are certainly not the only brand "messing" with their lineups. I don't have anything against introducing (or re-introducing) new products/ components (as opposed to having a product lineup that is frozen in time). I guess what I would prefer to see is...
Not just JLC ? They're all struggling that the party's over.
A lot of these statements apply to many others, you might just be being toughest on the one you love the most.... A lot of brands managed to make a lot of questionable products both technically and aesthetically look a success just because of the sheer gr...
JLC are not the only one...
Indeed, JLC's behaviour is not an exception in the industry (and one might hints of where it is coming from by looking for common denominators in the list by cazaela below - read: the owner, which I by the way fully understand). So you don't think the new...
Hi Mika
I think a lot of what you are saying is justified and in line with a lot of long term loyal fans of the brand are feeling at the moment. The current output, overall, lack innovative and strong technical features, clever complications in interesting and af...
It'd be interesting to see what the next CEO brings.
Because watches are no longer necessary like cars, ie. we have other ways to tell time accurately via cell phones; this puts a great deal of pressure on watch companies to offer something other than technical prowess either via finishing, unique, dials, o...
Good points
I agree and your first comment (watches are no longer necessary like they once were) goes to the heart of the problem. I believe that producers of such products need to create some "meaning" around their products. It could be cultural (see case Speedmaste...
Look at parent company Richemont
The answers you seek is with parent company Richemont and their recent inventory buyback from ADs for their other brands. JLC has cooked the goose that lay the golden eggs. It will take them possible twice as long to regain their status back with collecto...
Can you tell more about the buybacks?
I'm not familiar with this story... What exactly happened & why?
Maybe it's having a 3-letter acronym for the brand, because IWC went the same way
just a little bit earlier, and from a different position as the "Engineer's Watchmaker." And it's not just watches; look at this list from Wikipedia of the companies controlled by Richemont: The following companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Compagn...
Yep.
I silently curse the name of Richemont every time I navigate to the JLC website and next to a watch they ask if I want to add some extra straps costing hundreds of pounds to the watches... Fine, someone might want that but at the same time: Ryanair, anyon...
JLC will die a slow painful death like 99% of all wristwatch makers. Millennials won't care and future generations will never know about mechanical watches.
Watches will follow the same path as music reproduction and money. The future is pure digital.
Not so...
...if (as I mentioned above) the watch brands somehow manage to remain relevant, be it culturally, technically or some other way. It's not just about the tech spec/ utilitarian value but the story. If future was to be "pure digital" (or 99.9% digital, how...
Yes vinyl sales are way up but mostly by middle aged men. Younger generations will never embrace analog replay on any significant scale.
Soon even the cheapest DAC will be objectively better than the most expensive turntable.
In the end days of watchmaking, only Patek, Rolex, and Seiko will exist.
In the year 2112 A Patek 5711 will cost the equivalent of an average middle class lifetime income. A Rolex Pepsi GMT will have a price similar to feeding 1,000 starving children for 1,000 days. Both will have waitlists upon which parents will place their ...
Mika, I have a lot of questions to ask to the new CEO. I agree that some work had to be done, after the exciting Lambert's years. But the part of creation, innovation, and madness...
Is something we are missing. A reorganisation of the catalog, and a breeze of madness is all we want. I will talk to Madame Renier.
Good to hear and looking very much forward to any insights you might be able to share eventually!
A well-curated product line-up consisting of fine watches that live up to JLC's reputation is indeed what we are (literally) after!
JLC is behaving just like my football/soccer team ...
My football/soccer team don't win a serious championship for the last ten years, What do the team managers? Change the coach. So far, the results don't show up and my team just manages to survive in the first league. I'm a JLC addict since Lambert's days ...
Managing during a phenomenal growth period
has its own challenges, yes, but it's easy to look good. The watch market went through a period of consuming anything thrown at it and the manufacturers could barely keep up. The real test is the downturn. Then, good leaders often don't get the credit the...
