The world is constantly turning – but good stories will still be in demand a hundred years from now. FACES spoke with Longines CEO Matthias Breschan about the watch industry, talked about the history of Longines and took a look into the future. Extreme sports pioneer Géraldine Fasnacht has recently joined the Longines family. (picture above)
FACES: You come from Carinthia, but studied in Vienna. We can certainly ask: Wiener schnitzel or boiled beef?
Matthias Breschan: Wiener Schnitzel.
Q: And what about the decision between wine and beer?
MB: Wine, I’ve just been in France too long to be able to answer this question differently.
Q: Red carpet or living room?
MB: I would say a mix. What always fascinates me on the red carpet is how celebrities flaunt elegance. There are huge differences. There are people who carry elegance both within themselves and on the outside, and others who are only elegant on the outside. But for me personally, I only need the living room, I don’t need a red carpet.
F: Longines is both tradition and innovation. Can you decide between the two?
MB: It takes both, and the watch industry is probably the only industry that looks back to tradition to develop innovations. We have launched the Longines Spirit Zulu Time to tell just such stories. The new Longines Zulu Time is the result of the brand’s hundred years of experience. Its origins and name go back to the first Longines wristwatch with two time zones, which was produced in 1925 and bore the Zulu signal flag on its dial – Zulu refers to the letter Z, which stands for world time in aviation and the military. The Longines Spirit Zulu Time is a link between history and innovation. The precise new movement has been fitted with a silicon hairspring which is anti-magnetic, truly bringing together the latest technology in the industry.
Q: Where do you see the biggest trend in the watch industry at the moment?
MB: In recent years, it has certainly been diving watches, and all brands have sold very well. It must be said, however, that these watches differ little in their shape. All with steel bracelets, the more elegant ones with ceramic bezels, the others with aluminum bezels. That’s why it was so important to me that we always associate a new diver’s watch with our heritage. The Legend Diver is one of the very first diver’s watches; it has been part of the Longines collection for 60 years now. We are one of the few brands that really have a vintage diver’s watch.
Q: Is there a typical Longines customer?
MB: Our customer has an affinity for elegance, tradition and innovation. You can’t pin this down to a specific age group. We are perhaps also one of the very few brands that sell equally to men and women and where the other models do very well alongside the classic ones. A Master Moonphase, for example, or a sports watch like the Legend Diver. This balance is a great strength of our brand.
Q: Do people still need a wristwatch today?
MB: Nobody buys a watch today just to tell the time, just to jump into the sea with their diver’s watch or to get into a helicopter with their pilot’s watch. However, a watch gives us the opportunity to say something about ourselves. It is the perfect accessory for this.
Q: How do you perceive the younger generation?
MB: We have noticed that our clientele is generally getting younger and younger and is showing more and more interest in vintage and collector’s watches. We are welcoming more and more young people to our Collector’s Corner in Geneva, which is great.
Q: What is the most important market for Longines?
MB: Every single market is actually important, with China being the biggest for us. In recent years, however, this has shifted a lot, as there were no tourists in the USA and Europe due to coronavirus. It was like a wake-up call for us. In the past, we clearly relied too heavily on tourists, who bought a huge number of watches. First and foremost, we have to focus on the local clientele. Over the past two years, we have largely made up for the loss of tourist sales with local customers. We are seeing huge growth rates and increases in both Europe and the USA. We also had to teach our vendors this: The most important thing is each individual local market. This makes us strong in the long term.
Q: What is the biggest challenge you are currently facing as a watch brand?
MB: We have set ourselves the goal of reaching the two billion Swiss franc sales mark by 2025. We can meet this challenge by doing two things: One is to increase the local clientele in Europe and the USA. But of course there is still potential in the Asian markets too; just think of China or India. In the next few years, tens of millions of people will rise from poverty to the middle class, who will be potential customers for us in the future. Of course, there are also other emerging markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines, which will certainly continue to develop in the coming years. However, it is quite clear that we really have to concentrate on local products in all countries, and when the tourists come back at some point, we will be able to make interesting sales again.
Q: Which watch do you sell best?
MB: The best-selling model last year was the Hydro Conquest. This is a watch that is incredibly popular in Europe and the USA as well as in Asia.
Q: What is your personal favorite Longines watch?
MB: I have three favorite models: the Master Collection with moon phase display, the Legend Diver and the new Longines Spirit Zulu Time.
Q: Is it still necessary to differentiate between men’s and women’s watches?
MB: No. And we no longer differentiate. We say “ageless” and “genderless”. For example, we sell the Spirit 37 millimeter just as well to men as to women. The same applies to the Legend Diver 36 millimeters. Even if you look at the size of the models, a lot has changed. People used to say: Small watches are in demand in Asia, large models in Europe and the USA. At the moment, it’s exactly the opposite. We sell twice as many units of the Hydro Conquest 43 millimeter in China as we do of the 41 millimeter. However, I think the trend is being strongly influenced by vintage watches, so-called collector’s watches, which are incredibly popular at the moment. The trend in Europe is clearly moving towards small watches.
You can find more information about Longines at longines.com
