Launched in 1737, Favre Leuba, the second oldest watch brand in the world (Blancpain founded in 1735 is the oldest) had a checkered story. He was the victim of the 1970s quartz crisis, but was relaunched in 2011 after being bought by Titan. However, in 2020, Titan disconnected additional funding because he could not succeed in the brand.
The brand has Langui until last year, when it again received a new breath when Silvercity Brands bought it and put the veteran of the Patrik Hoffman industry at the helm. Hoffman with more than three decades of experience in the Swiss watch industry again relaunched the brand in the Watches of Geneva in August.
In a freewheeling conversation with Business todayHoffman who is the president and chief executive officer of Favre Leuba talks about the recovery, the challenges, the importance of India as a market and the Swiss surveillance industry, among others. Edited extracts:
What is your strategy for relaunching the brand and what type of challenges do you plan?
The idea is to relaunch the brand. Of course, we are aware that over the past 30 years, there have been a lot of recovery, but they have all failed. But I believe that now we are at the right time with the right product. I am the kind of person who starts low, which means that I start with the product. The product is the key to our development, in our planning, and it is also the hero. We realize that we have to build the brand over the next 10 to 12 years. In our planning, we call it revival. Today, the watches market is very in vintage models, so we have taken some of our vintage collections and we made it contemporary. So it was the first part. The second part is to be faithful to DNA, to the inheritance of the company, because the company has such a deep heritage. We have kept this alive in design codes, and also, in terms of pricing or positioning on the market. So it was the key.
We presented our first parts in the Geneva Watch Days in August during a world launch and the comments show that we are on the right track.
What is the importance of India as a market for you?
This is the right time to relaunch the brand, especially here in India, because India is prospering right now and Favre Leuba has such a deep story in India. We consider India as our main market at the moment and in the foreseeable future. Almost half of our current production of 4,000 watches is for the Indian market. We examine 30 points of sale in India. We have an exclusive partnership with ethos. We hope to open our first shop in India in 2026.
Have you faced challenges with recovery?
When you launch a mechanical product, you need expertise. You need people who will help you produce watches. It would have been a challenge, but our timing was right. The slowdown in the Swiss watch industry has helped us because many doors have opened us. Two years earlier, they would have said that they did not have the capacity.
From the planning phase to when we launched our 22 models in Geneva, it was only 10 months old. We worked at a dizzying speed. We started delivery within 14 months.
What type of production capacity have you at the moment? What do you look at?
Currently, we have 4,000 watches in production. And then we will increase the capacity to 8,000 pieces per year next year. And in 10 to 12 years, we want to be around 100,000 watches per year.
What are the markets you target in addition to India?
Central Europe with countries like Austria and Switzerland. Then we have Eastern European countries like Poland and Czechoslovakia because the brand is well known. Then we have Japan, which has a story with the brand, followed by the Middle East and later this year in the United States.
Who is your target audience for the remained watch?
Favre Leuba has a big fan afterwards. They are collectors. Of course, once we drop to 100,000 pieces, we become more common. Our final consumer is mainly men who are looking for great value for the male. We have a price between 2,200 Swiss francs and 4,400 Swiss francs.
Did you say it was based on men, but do you look at a female collection?
Absolutely. We are in product planning. We hope to launch a line of women at the end of the year or certainly in 2026. Women’s watches are part of our DNA. We have old catalogs that show fantastic lady’s watches.
Do you see the digital watch as a threat to industry?
No. Are there some brands that are injured because of this? Of course, there is no doubt. But not industry as such. I think it’s complementary because it encourages young people to wear something on the wrist. At one point, they decide to move to a more declaration. And don’t forget, the Swiss surveillance industry is not such a large industry. We must therefore be at the top not only in terms of product, but also in terms of communication.
What do you think of the current state of the Swiss surveillance industry?
Well, right now, we are slowing down. But it always comes back. So, for me, the question is not to come back? The question is: is he still returning in 2025 or in 2026? Okay, this is my answer. The industry will rebound in the next 18 months.
