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Turning Back Time: Biver’s Watches Make a Comeback

Article Overview: “We bought Blancpain at the end of 1981,” recalls Biver, “and started to develop the brand from zero in 1982 with the concept that we would never make a quartz watch, because we would stick to and develop only and exclusively the traditional watch-making art.”

Turning Back Time: Biver’s Watches Make a Comeback

"We bought Blancpain at the end of 1981," recalls Biver, "and started to develop the brand from zero in 1982 with the concept that we would never make a quartz watch, because we would stick to and develop only and exclusively the traditional watch-making art." Blancpain was a company with a long history, but with the advent of quartz watches, it had suffered. Instead of ceding to the latest trend, Biver decided to use it as a strength, even building the brand around that key difference. "Since 1735, there has never been a quartz Blancpain watch," he said. "And there never will be."

Personal problems, however, forced Biver to step back from the company just as it was making a comeback. Piguet and Biver sold the company to Swatch Group in 1992, but Biver stayed on as CEO of Blancpain until 2002. "If it was a certain emotional loss for me, it was certainly not bad at all for Blancpain," says Biver. "Being a member of Swatch Group gave to Blancpain an incredible access to the mechanical technology and enormous power in the distribution and organization."

In the sale of Blancpain, Biver also joined the board of directors of Swatch Group. Ironically, he was once again placed in charge of its Omega brand. By using unique product placement and celebrity sponsorship techniques, Biver turned the brand around completely. Over his ten years behind the brand, Omega's sales tripled.

In 2004, Biver took a brief hiatus from the watch-making world, but it would not last long. He soon became CEO and board member of Hublot, a leading maker of luxury watches, where he remains to this day. It is here where Biver's trademark "fusion of tradition and future" would take hold. In his first three years at Hublot, sales would increase fivefold. He heavily restricted supply in order to build an exclusive brand, and it worked.

"The brand's turnaround is proceeding," says Biver. "We have quadrupled our results, passing from a turnover of 26 million CHF to about 100 million. And, this has been done without any bank debt or increase in capital."

Biver complements his time working on watches with his passion for cheese. For only a few weeks every summer, Biver produces almost five tones of cheese on his farm in the Swiss Alps. However, contrary to his watches, Biver refuses to sell his cheese. He gives them away only to friends, family, and particular restaurants of his choice, refusing payment in all cases. In doing so, says Biver, he is able to main absolute control of quality and distribution of his cheese: "I will be the master of my cheese until the last piece."

Whether with cheese or watches, Biver has proved a steadfast businessman, with a focus on brand, luxury, and distribution. Meanwhile, the world eagerly waits for his next release and vies to get their hands on it - or to get it around their hands, as the case may be.

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Article Tags: advent, blancpain, board member, chf, emotional loss, enormous power, hiatus, luxury watches, mechanical technology, milli, omega brand, personal problems, piguet, product placement, quartz watch, quartz watches, s sales, trademark fusion, turnaround, turnover



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