Post by CHIP on Jun 20, 2007 12:18:25 GMT -6
Credit: Avalon
So this is another relatively easy one - I promise something with more substance next. I think #3 will be Blancpain.
We did not tour a Hublot factory but our tour host had arranged a dinner with Jean-Claude Biver (CEO and owner of Hublot) one evening. Now I will say right off that I am not a fan of the Hublot brand, and certainly not of the Big Bang variations they have produced. However, I will certainly commend Mr. Biver for what he was able to do with Hublot as a brand. For those who don’t know he was also responsible for reviving Blancpain, and during the talk he gave to us mentioned that he bought the brand, or more accurately the name, for $15,000 in 1982 - it had been dormant for decades at that point. He sold the brand in 1992, but did not tell us what he sold it for. I think he did okay on that one.
Here he is greeting us all at the entrance to the restaurant.
When he purchased Hublot, the brand was in some serious trouble and was turning over around $24 million per year, but was losing 2 million per year in the process. JCB told us that when he took over the brand in 2004, the designs from Hublot were not to his taste, and in fact said:
“When you see a Hublot from 2004, you would have to pay me a lot to wear it!”
LOL!
His talk was very much filled with enthusiasm and passion. I respect him for that, even though I am not keen on the watches themselves. His energy is immense and infectious. I can see how people come to feel so strongly about him, the brand, and the watches.
JCB told us that Hublot was one of the first companies to mesh a rubber strap with a luxury watch. It’s something we sort of take for granted now, but when it was first introduced it was revolutionary (sort of like the Royal Oak being the first luxury stainless steel watch priced at the level of a gold watch). He said that their main focus, in addition to the “porthole” design of the cases, was the fusion of materials. This is the idea that he saw that could be expanded upon when he took the company over. If you are at all familiar with the Big Bang line, you know that using different materials is quite common on those watches. So his catch word for the evening was “fusion.”
Many in the watch industry told JCB that he was finished in the watch business when he left Swatch and BP and took over Hublot, but he has taken the company from it’s poor financial position in 2004 to now doing around $150 million/yr and as of May, 2007 they have a backlog of orders that is worth $240 million. They are constructing a new factory to increase production and he is running the company on a cash basis, so they have “zero” debt.
He opened the floor to questions and several were asked but the main one we all seemed interested in was the seemingly huge difference between the style of watches he did at Blancpain and the style of the Big Bang line. He said that he was not interested in repeating the traditional style he had done at BP, and wanted to explore a different route with Hublot. He is very proud of the work he did at BP and still has huge respect for the brand, and did not really want to compete with what they do. At Hublot they are doing research in conjunction with the European Nuclear Agency into various materials for use in watches. Some of the they use now are ceramics, titanium, tungsten, carbon, tantalum, etc.
Another question was asked about the name “Big Bang.” JCB said that this was a name picked by asking all sorts of people what the new watch line should be called, both inside and outside the company. He said that this was picked because it represented a new beginning for the company, and was also a source of the famous “fusion” of materials, like the real big bang. This lead to some questions about potential concerns that the company might end up being a “one watch company” and is putting all their eggs in one basket so to speak. His reply was that it is certainly a risk, but so far it is a strategy that is serving them well.
JCB has a farm and he makes cheese as his other business. His farm produces 75 kg of cheese per day, and although he didn’t say it was related to our dinner, we had cheese fondue that night. It is a traditional Swiss meal, and started with some sort of dried meat, and then the fondue made from two types of cheese (one is Gruyere but I can’t recall the other type). It was certainly not a “light” meal, and we were warned not to drink cold drinks as we ate the melted cheese and bread or it would congeal in our stomachs and give us a difficult night. 
So after the fondue came out I stopped drinking wine and started drinking hot tea. Still, my stomach was a bit upset the rest of the night and part of the following day……
Now for some photos. When we arrived at the restaurant they greeted us with some Swiss alpenhorns…..
The sound was very nice, but I half expected to hear someone call out “Riiiiiiicolaaaaaaa!” LOL!
Here is the dish of bubbling cheese ready to be consumed……
Hublot brought a selection of watches for us to view. The lighting was terrible, so please forgive the quality of these pictures – I did the best I could under the conditions.
Bling!!!
Complicated……
Like this carbon dial……
Winner of the most ridiculously named watch in recent years…….the Big Bang King…..
So, we ended our night with Hublot coming away with a better understanding of the goals they have set for themselves, and the philosophy behind their designs.
Hope you enjoyed this report!
So this is another relatively easy one - I promise something with more substance next. I think #3 will be Blancpain.
We did not tour a Hublot factory but our tour host had arranged a dinner with Jean-Claude Biver (CEO and owner of Hublot) one evening. Now I will say right off that I am not a fan of the Hublot brand, and certainly not of the Big Bang variations they have produced. However, I will certainly commend Mr. Biver for what he was able to do with Hublot as a brand. For those who don’t know he was also responsible for reviving Blancpain, and during the talk he gave to us mentioned that he bought the brand, or more accurately the name, for $15,000 in 1982 - it had been dormant for decades at that point. He sold the brand in 1992, but did not tell us what he sold it for. I think he did okay on that one.
Here he is greeting us all at the entrance to the restaurant.
When he purchased Hublot, the brand was in some serious trouble and was turning over around $24 million per year, but was losing 2 million per year in the process. JCB told us that when he took over the brand in 2004, the designs from Hublot were not to his taste, and in fact said:
“When you see a Hublot from 2004, you would have to pay me a lot to wear it!”
LOL!
His talk was very much filled with enthusiasm and passion. I respect him for that, even though I am not keen on the watches themselves. His energy is immense and infectious. I can see how people come to feel so strongly about him, the brand, and the watches.
JCB told us that Hublot was one of the first companies to mesh a rubber strap with a luxury watch. It’s something we sort of take for granted now, but when it was first introduced it was revolutionary (sort of like the Royal Oak being the first luxury stainless steel watch priced at the level of a gold watch). He said that their main focus, in addition to the “porthole” design of the cases, was the fusion of materials. This is the idea that he saw that could be expanded upon when he took the company over. If you are at all familiar with the Big Bang line, you know that using different materials is quite common on those watches. So his catch word for the evening was “fusion.”
Many in the watch industry told JCB that he was finished in the watch business when he left Swatch and BP and took over Hublot, but he has taken the company from it’s poor financial position in 2004 to now doing around $150 million/yr and as of May, 2007 they have a backlog of orders that is worth $240 million. They are constructing a new factory to increase production and he is running the company on a cash basis, so they have “zero” debt.
He opened the floor to questions and several were asked but the main one we all seemed interested in was the seemingly huge difference between the style of watches he did at Blancpain and the style of the Big Bang line. He said that he was not interested in repeating the traditional style he had done at BP, and wanted to explore a different route with Hublot. He is very proud of the work he did at BP and still has huge respect for the brand, and did not really want to compete with what they do. At Hublot they are doing research in conjunction with the European Nuclear Agency into various materials for use in watches. Some of the they use now are ceramics, titanium, tungsten, carbon, tantalum, etc.
Another question was asked about the name “Big Bang.” JCB said that this was a name picked by asking all sorts of people what the new watch line should be called, both inside and outside the company. He said that this was picked because it represented a new beginning for the company, and was also a source of the famous “fusion” of materials, like the real big bang. This lead to some questions about potential concerns that the company might end up being a “one watch company” and is putting all their eggs in one basket so to speak. His reply was that it is certainly a risk, but so far it is a strategy that is serving them well.
JCB has a farm and he makes cheese as his other business. His farm produces 75 kg of cheese per day, and although he didn’t say it was related to our dinner, we had cheese fondue that night.
It is a traditional Swiss meal, and started with some sort of dried meat, and then the fondue made from two types of cheese (one is Gruyere but I can’t recall the other type). It was certainly not a “light” meal, and we were warned not to drink cold drinks as we ate the melted cheese and bread or it would congeal in our stomachs and give us a difficult night. 
So after the fondue came out I stopped drinking wine and started drinking hot tea. Still, my stomach was a bit upset the rest of the night and part of the following day……Now for some photos. When we arrived at the restaurant they greeted us with some Swiss alpenhorns…..
The sound was very nice, but I half expected to hear someone call out “Riiiiiiicolaaaaaaa!” LOL!
Here is the dish of bubbling cheese ready to be consumed……
Hublot brought a selection of watches for us to view. The lighting was terrible, so please forgive the quality of these pictures – I did the best I could under the conditions.
Bling!!!
Complicated……
Like this carbon dial……
Winner of the most ridiculously named watch in recent years…….the Big Bang King…..
So, we ended our night with Hublot coming away with a better understanding of the goals they have set for themselves, and the philosophy behind their designs.
Hope you enjoyed this report!