Who owns swatch company

This was the birth of the SSIH , which resulted in a wider product range, an increase in production and the preservation of both companies. Omega concentrated on the luxury watch market, while Tissot produced for the mid-range price segment.

In , the watch and movement manufacturer Lemania was also added to the holding. The knowledge acquired for the production of movements and complications was to help Omega develop its sports watches and paved the way for the Speedmaster series. This group was comprised of the producers of raw movements and other watch components.

In the s, these companies were faced with a problem of their own: the chablonnage. That was the name given to the export of Swiss raw movements and their designs and stencils for further manufacture abroad. In order to prevent other countries from simply exploiting and copying Swiss innovations, the manufacturers in the watch industry reorganized themselves as a cartel. The formation of the cartel enabled the chablonnage to be controlled, although not completely stopped.

This eventually led to a request for state intervention, which resulted in the creation of ASUAG through federal financial aid in This further strengthened the Swiss watch cartel.

Shortly afterwards, the Swiss state declared that the export of blanks to be subject to authorization. In , the General Watch Co. This eliminated the previously prevalent competition between the small companies and allowed the two to grow steadily. However, the emergence of quartz watches led to the quartz crisis in the s. Export figures of Swiss companies fell considerably and jobs were consequently cut. Along with the rest of the Swiss watch industry, the two supercorporations were faced with the prospect of collapse in Hayek for an expert opinion.

The first collection of Swatch watches was ultimately launched in Zurich in However, its history began in at ETA , where they were already working on the development of a low-cost quartz watch. The Swatch resulted from the collaboration between Nicolas Hayek and Ernst Thomke and quickly developed into a bestseller: In the sales target was set at 2.

The cheap quartz watch that once brought the watch industry to its knees was now their salvation. Swatch relied on fully automated production and reduced the number of components from 91 to only 51 components, which greatly increased the profit margin.

Following the success of the Swatch , the company turned its attention to the other brands, which had previously undergone logistical reforms, but still maintained their old brand images. In , Hayek restructured the board of directors and brought the brand managers of all the larger brands on board. The objective was to find the appropriate segment for each brand, so that they would no longer compete with each other and instead increase the image of the Swatch Group.

The path to luxury In , the Swatch Group acquired Blancpain , one of the oldest watch brands in the world, thus adding a prestigious and traditional company to the group. Marc Alexander Hayek. Members of the board. Claude Nicollier, Dr. Jean-Pierre Roth, Dr. Daniela Aeschlimann-Schneider. Markets and indexes. Stock Exchange Codes. Company contact information.

Brand Portfolio. In partnership with. More brands of The Swatch Group Ltd. Sector Consumer Cyclicals. Cyclical Consumer Products. Thierry Kenel. Claude Nicollier. Jean-Pierre Roth. Felix Knecht. His touch is evident in certain collections of Zenith and TAG Heuer in which one finds hyper-modern, often skeletonized sport watches.

TAG Heuer's aggressive marketing and product development mirror's Hublot's in this way, but balances its edgy, youth-oriented watches with vintage-inspired models in a similar manner to Zenith. Today's Best Deals. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Two Creatives on Their Journeys to Sustainability.

Thomas Niedermueller Getty Images. An ETA automatic movement — an industry workhorse. Time Connection Inc. The Sistem51 Hodinkee Generation — an automatic watch from Swatch. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses.

You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. More From Automatic Watches. Presented by. Hayek as CEO, successfully created new opportunities and established a new culture. Within five years, the SMH Group was to become the most valuable watchmaker in the world. The Swatch Group Ltd. The Group is active in the manufacture of finished watches, jewelry, and watch movements and components.

It produces nearly all of the components necessary to manufacture the watches sold under its 18 watch brands and the multi-brand Tourbillon and Hour Passion retail labels, as well as the entire Swiss watchmaking industry. In addition, it operates its own worldwide network of distribution organizations. The Swatch Group is also a key player in the electronic systems sector.

Less than 40 years ago, the Swiss watchmaking industry was battling a serious crisis. The first Swatch watches were released in The years since then have seen the recovery of the Swiss watchmaking industry as a whole, and the establishment of The Swatch Group as a strong, diversified industrial holding.

This solid foundation has allowed the Group to broaden its reach and extend its range of brands. Today, the Swatch Group offers watches in all price categories, and Swatch Group monobrands and the multibrand Tourbillon and Hour passion retail marks hold leadership positions in all market segments:. Tourbillon, the retail mark under which all selected Swatch Group watch and jewelry brands of the Prestige and Luxury range, as well as Swatch products are offered in a unique and exclusive multi-brand environment;.