Since about 4 months now, I have discovered the Hublot watches and the Hublot company and brand. Quite an interesting story. And a very good example of an emotional brand linked and strongly represented by its very charismatic CEO, Jean-Claude Biver. Hublot is bringing high-rage watches internationally (top-range watches are defined in Switzerland by their price, i.e above 8’000 to 9’000 CHF).
Jean-Claude Biver is one of those rare men who have genuinely left their mark on Swiss watchmaking. He is born in Luxembourg on 20 September 1949, and his family moved to Switzerland when he was 10 and he became a pupil at a school in Saint-Prex. He continued his education at the Collège de Morges, then at Lausanne University. He arrived in Le Brassus with his degree fresh in his pocket.
The birthplace of fine watchmaking, the Joux Valley was to have a profound effect on his life. He fitted in very quickly, living near a farm which, years later, would become the headquarters of Blancpain. He married in the valley in 1979.
Jean-Claude Biver worked hard to hone his skills from 1975 when he joined Audemars Piguet. He moved on to Omega, in Bienne, where he remained until 1981 and that year, with his friend Jacques Piguet, he bought the dormant Blancpain brand. […]
Ten years after its creation, the company was flourishing. Despite this, the two partners decided to sell, to protect the company and enable it to develop in a balanced manner. Nicolas Hayek and the Swatch Group bought Blancpain in 1992, but Jean-Claude Biver remained as Managing Director and joined the board of Swatch until end of 2003.
Jean-Claude Biver is undoubtedly enjoying is new challenge as a CEO of Hublot watches with a seat on the Board.
Hublot has launched the new and very innovative “Big-Bang” collection in 2005. These watches are 44.5mm diameter watches, always with a so-called “fusion approach”, that means that there are very different types of materials used, as for example ceramic, titanium, kevlar and rubber. Actually, the brand Hublot was the first watches brand which has used rubber for making the straps (in this high-end range of the watches segments). Huge immediate market success. And what for a success:
- Revenues 2004: 26 mio CHF
- Revenues 2006: 96 mio CHF (and about 116 mio CHF of orders which had to be delayed)
- Revenues 2007 (forecast after Baselworld): 270 mio CHF
Hublot is manufacturing about 17’000 pieces per year. It is generally speaking difficult to find an Hublot watch. The jeweler’s shops have normally just some pieces in stock (4 to 8). If you are ordering a watch, you will have to wait about 8 months before receiving it, perhaps now longer after the BaselWorld event ;-)
The website of Hublot is also quite interesting (see below). It consists on a Big Bang watch in the background, which is giving the hour and the date. This website is receiving about 9’000 unique visitors per day (i.e. 270’000 visitors / month or more than 3 million visitors per year). The main communication media used is the video. You can find a lot of short videos (with a majority of them with Jean-Claude Biver ;-), plus a so-called “Hublot TV”
Another innovative marketing process was launched by Hublot with their sponsorship partnership with the UEFA Euro 2008 event, which will take place in Switzerland and Austria! It is the first time that a luxury watch brand is supporting a sport as football (our European soccer). Hublot is also, more traditionally in this industry, sponsoring sailing activities (America’s Cup and Luna Rossa, PalmaVela).
This one is my preferred model, the Big Bang Black Magic:
