No two years are the same on the IWC stand at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. You can just as easily find yourself sipping an espresso on a square somewhere in Portofino as boarding an aircraft carrier. This year, visitors can sit behind the wheel of a Mercedes race car - and have the resident photographer immortalise the moment - and imagine themselves tearing past Juan Manuel Fangio's Silver Arrow, just in front. IWC has chosen this hi-tech environment to present its new Ingenieur watches. The revamped collection, and the new models that come with it, ties in with the partnership which the brand signed last year with the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team. Chief Executive Georges Kern describes the cost of the partnership as "non-significant" and is expecting something like a twenty-fold return on investment. The Schaffhausen brand intends standing out from the many other watch brands lined up under the chequered flag. Says Kern, "I don't want to see an IWC logo on a car. What matters is being associated with a legendary brand and names. Obviously this is something Mercedes and the Silver Arrows provide. Few other brands can boast this kind of a heritage."
IWC actually relaunched the Ingenieur collection in 2005, a couple of months after signing an agreement with AMG. As the environmental voice grew louder a few years later, the brand put a damper on its motor-racing ties. It's a very different business today, insists Kern: "The automotive industry has nothing to do with what it was five or ten years ago. Even the most sporting marques propose hybrid and electric cars. Fuel consumption is lower and we've witnessed a massive reduction in CO2 emissions. Today's ordinary cars benefit from earlier advances made in F1 racing. The automotive industry is no longer the villain."
The Chinese consumer pool
From a production point of view, IWC is aiming for 100% in-house movements. Currently, Manufacture movements account for 60% of sales versus 2% to 3% a decade ago. "We need to pace this transition carefully," says Georges Kern. "It's a question of maturity. We need to ask ourselves when we can afford to pull out of the entry-level segment, which is currently the base of the production pyramid. It's about timing things right and making sure the customer can digest and accept this upgrade." In reality, IWC has been taking this direction for several years already with an increase in its range of in-house calibres. The reduction in the number of points of sale from 1,500 to 850 is part of this same strategy.
The brand is also achieving tighter distribution with reinforced control by opening more of its own boutiques. There are presently some 60 IWC stores worldwide and counting. "These new boutiques are an essential part of the brand's development," says Kern. Openings are slated in Rome, Venice and of course Asia. The brand is also on the lookout for suitable locations in Ginza (Tokyo), Rodeo Drive (Los Angeles) and Bond Street (London).
Georges Kern is less forthcoming as to what future months hold for the watch industry and concerns over the Chinese market, commenting only that "China has a population of some 1.6 billion and over a hundred cities with more than a million inhabitants. That's the reality of the situation." For now, IWC is still recruiting and the brand's 1,100 staff are eagerly awaiting the transfer to more spacious premises once the extension to its manufacturing site is complete at a cost of CHF 30 million.
http://www.wthejournal.com/en/news/view/iwc-aims-to-become-a-100-manufacture-brand
