The Luxury Übermensch: Interview with Jean-Claude BiverPosted by suanfutt
From REVOLUTION USA14 The Luxury Übermensch Having shrugged off the blows of the financial crisis to emerge stronger than ever, Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver continues to strive for new levels of success and sets his sight on conquering the hearts and minds of the people in the land of the dragon By Wei Koh  Jean-Claude Biver, the CEO Hublot should teach a mandatory class for all watch industry leaders. His track record speaks for itself. On three separate occasions, he’s brought his brands, Blancpain, Omega and Hublot, from relative obscurity to dizzying levels of success. In the frothy pre-crisis era, he was the uncontested hero of the luxury watch world who stewarded Hublot into a sale to the LVMH Group. But like all true champions, Biver knew that with the onset of the worldwide economic crisis at the tail end of 2008, a true leader demonstrates his ability when the going gets tough. Nearly 16 months later, Hublot’s success continues unimpeded. He’s beat back the financial doldrums by promoting even greater visibility, by traveling even more frequently to his markets around the world to make sure he remains connected with each and every one of his devotees, and by constantly pushing the name Hublot and its array of Big Bang watches into the limelight. To cultivate the market in China, Biver traveled to the land of the dragon with unprecedented reality, more than most other CEOs in the business. There, he spread his singular brand of Biver charisma, winning over new fans by the scores. And when the smoke cleared, Hublot emerged from 2009 a clear winner that seemed to have shrugged off the near misses and body blows of the crisis like a true champion! There’s no wonder that he says, “It is with regret that I say the crisis is now over.” We caught up with this luxury Übermensch to gain insights into his perspectives on the past year and what they’ve meant to the luxury watch business. One of the brands dominating the all-important Chinese market is Omega. The seeds of this success were sewn during your tenure at the brand. Can you tell us what potential you saw in China and how you made the brand a success there? Since I am no longer with the brand, I don’t want to say too much. What I can say is that Omega was very clever to be the first brand to handle the Chinese market in a proper way — it’s not a market where you ship all the goods that you cannot sell in other markets (as was the norm in those days). We had to treat them as well as we would treat the Swiss market, or the US market. To demonstrate our seriousness, the first thing Omega did was set up proper service centers. In fact, at one point, Omega had more people working in the service centers than we had working in sales. That was very innovative — the only other example in history where this happened was when Volkswagen set up shop in the United States: they first built the service centers before selling the cars because they wanted a reputation of reliability. The retailers welcomed Omega in a very positive way because we were helping them. Within 10 years, Omega was the undisputed number one brand in China. You’ve earmarked China as the next crucial market, but how will Hublot, which is a relatively niche product, compare to Omega or Rolex and fight with these giants? Ah, but it is not a fight. You see, the stronger Omega, Rolex or Longines becomes in China, the more they help to create a market for “the next watch”. Sure, the consumer will first buy Omega or Rolex, but soon he will want another watch. So, now brands like Panerai, Richard Mille and Hublot have to work on presenting themselves as “the next watch”. Ultimately, an evolution in consumer taste is inevitable. I think that 15 years ago, it would have been impossible for Richard Mille, Panerai or Hublot to have a foothold in China because the market had not yet matured. But thanks to Omega, Rolex and Longines, the market has now grown — it has matured to a level where consumers are moving beyond these mass-appeal brands, as seen in other more sophisticated markets of the world. So you see, the foundation that has been built with Rolex, Omega and Longines, and the future of the watch market in China is proportional to the strength of this base. How have you made an impact in awareness terms in China? We use the Internet to generate buzz, but more importantly, we hold live events every month for about 150 high net-worth guests. I make it a point to attend every event and get to know them personally and introduce them to Hublot. To me, they are not only consumers but also opinion makers — they talk to others, they create a buzz about the brand, and increase our brand awareness through word of mouth. How about the all-important concept of the status a watch coveys in China? How can you ensure people who buy a Hublot feel this sense of “face”? It is true that in China, the concept of status is very important. If somebody buys a Hublot, Panerai or Richard Mille for the purpose of seeking recognition, he will not get much of it from his usual acquaintances in China at this point in time. But if he wears a Hublot when he leaves the country, or when he’s with the elite from other parts of the world, he will undoubtedly receive due recognition because those people he’s with are Hublot’s clients as well. Many Hublot owners in China discovered the brand while they were out of the country, usually in Paris or the US. You see, the Chinese are now the greatest travelers in the world and they are very discerning. However, it’s also very dangerous for a brand to only be successful in one market, such as China. Because when the Chinese go overseas, there will not be a positive reinforcement for the brand…Without naming names, everyone knows which brands are actually facing this problem… this can become a major obstacle for them in the future if they are only successful in China but not anywhere else. Why? Because the wealthier Chinese are traveling more these days. And they will, one day, be sitting in a board meeting and looking at the wrists of everyone in the room. If everyone is wearing an Audemars Piguet, a Patek Philippe or Hublot, then he is going to ask himself, “Why is no one wearing what I am wearing? Why is no one wearing the brand I was told was the best?” It is ingrained in the Chinese culture to be sensitive to these things, if no one complements him on his watch, if no one recognizes its value, he will feel slighted. He will feel what the Chinese or Asians refer to as “a loss of face”. And the next thing he will do is to change his watch. It’s interesting that amid the trend for innovative in-house movements, your new UNICO HUB 1240 in-house caliber is largely based on a pre-existing Valjoux movement. Can you explain why? There is an excellent reason for this… When it comes to movements, reliability far outweighs originality! When I started Hublot, we focused on the Valjoux 7750. This movement is, in my opinion, the most reliable movement on the market. It allows me to give people a five-year warranty — the longest in the watch industry. When I started, retailers were surprised by two things: first, that we sold so many Big Bangs, and secondly, that none of the Big Bangs were returned for servicing. I wanted Hublot to develop a very strong and reliable reputation right from the onset. And when it came to making our own movement, we couldn’t allow it to be inferior to the 7750 in terms of reliability. So I thought to myself, “How could we build a new movement that is at least as good as the 7750?” I realized that it was possible if we built a movement using the dimensions and architecture of the 7750 and enhanced it further, making it even more reliable. Moreover, if someone bought a Hublot watch in 2006 and decides that he wants to change the movement inside to a new UNICO movement in 2010, we could do it because the dimensions of the movement, the positions of indices, the crown, and so on, are precisely the same. How did you ensure that this movement was even better than the Valjoux 7750? Simple. We hired Mr René Maillefer, the developer of the Valjoux 7750 movement and the former boss of Valjoux and Lemania, to head the movement development team at Hublot. His objective from the start was that we should optimize our UNICO movements not just to cater for a production of quantity of 5,000 to 10,000 movements, but for half a million — it is only at this high level of production that you are assured of true reliability. Take Rolex for example, they have the most reliable movements in the world because they produce so many of them. Do you feel as if promoting in-house movements is to some degree a marketing technique? Günter Blümlein (former head of A. Lange & Söhne, IWC and JLC) was the genius who made the term “in-house” exciting and sexy. He used it as a marketing tactic. Over the past five years, many brands are rushing to develop their own in-house movements, but what you must never forget is that just because it is built in-house doesn’t necessarily mean it is a better movement. If the movement doesn’t work well, it would be a greater disaster than not having an in-house but a reliable movement. We’ve seen some important successes, but also some failures in the last few years, some even within your own group. Zenith now has a dynamic new CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour. In what ways do you think his predecessor erred? One of the fundamental errors that new CEOs make when they take the helm is that they fail to build on the brand’s roots and foundations that are already there. Instead, they try to start all over again. But when they do this, their brand becomes fragile — it doesn’t benefit from the foundation and strength that history provides. When I took over the reins at Hublot, I made it a point to tell everyone that I would not remake the brand. I would build upon what was already there, and use it to help the brand evolve. I wanted to take what Mr Crocco created, reinforce it and help it reach new heights. In this way, the past became my friend and not my enemy. The past provided credibility. How did sticking to your roots help you? One example was when there was some early criticism that the Big Bang looked like another watch on the market (the AP Royal Oak Offshore). My response to those criticisms was, “No, it is the evolution of the original Hublot.” With simple schematic images, we showed the step-by -step evolution from the original Hublot watch to the Big Bang. The evidence of our legitimacy was clear as day and after that, no one said anything. Our unity with the past gave us credibility. I believe that whatever brand you take over, you must never try to disconnect it from its past. If you lose DNA, you lose philosophy and history. Many new CEOs, and not just those in the watchmaking industry, are too eager in wanting to put their signatures on the brand the moment they take over. They should never forget that their signatures are not relevant; their names are not relevant! What’s important is the name of the brand and the continuity of the brand to go from strength to strength into the future. Have you taken on an advisory role for the watch division in LVMH? It seems you had a hand in Mr Dufour coming to Zenith… No, I have no advisory role at LVMH, nor do I want it. Jean-Frédéric Dufour is a good friend and I may recommend him to accept the position as CEO of Zenith. If he calls me on the weekend and wants to show me a concept, I will gladly oblige, but it’s private advice from me to him built on friendship. I am 60 years old, and I have had three brands. I am not interested in expanding my role. Is your time at Hublot nearing an end? My job is just starting. This is the beginning of a new era, as we have to transition the brand into a true manufacture. The first part of my job — the re-launch of the brand and the birth of the Big Bang — is done. But now, I must consolidate to create continuity. One day, we will become a brand that makes 30,000 watches a year, and two-thirds of those will be equipped with in-house UNICO movements. Have you planned your successors already? Succession planning will be the last part of my mission. Of course, I have started this already. Success brings satisfaction but it brings enormous obligation. First of this is the obligation to share. Success belongs to everyone who helped you. You are the tip of the iceberg and your team is everything that you don’t see. Second, success must be transmitted to others to perpetuate and repeat this success. Third, your obligation is to stay humble because you never know what the next step of your life might be. You have success today but you might have defeat tomorrow. The Tibetans say when you have reached the top of the mountain, go on climbing. But who precisely will succeed you in the future? I really want to help my team continue to run the company by themselves in the future. I have my own personality and my own charisma. But for many elements such as sensitivity for product — someone like Ricardo Guadalupe, managing director of Hublot, has it already. Even if I don’t have the mentality to do this, I have the professional obligation to do it. We are now part of a group and I must plan succession in case anything happens to me. Have you made any mistakes or failed in anyway at Hublot? I would say that I have made mistakes but fortunately, none that have impacted me in a major way. I think I expanded the collection too fast. I think I have too many references, and I abused limited editions. So that is already quite a few mistakes, but they did not do any lasting damage and we had it corrected. In what way did you go wrong with limited editions? The idea was correct but the quantities related to limited editions were wrong. The idea was correct because if you are a mono-product brand, you have to ask yourself how many of the same watch is a consumer willing to buy from you. He can buy one watch ultimately. If I make the same watch in three materials, in theory, he can buy three. But how can I get him to buy the fourth one? You see, when I have a customer with my watch on his wrist, I never want him to quit my brand. But if he is buying three or four watches per year, I want to remain in consideration. How do I achieve this? How do I get these people? I make a limited edition in memory of Ayrton Senna because it has a great emotional story or I make one related to Alinghi or Manchester United because this will strike a different emotional chord. So you see, limited editions are a necessity. But between the necessity of making a few and the evil of making too many, there is a fine balance! We lost this balance but have corrected it. Can you tell us about the new association with Bruno Senna? The sister of Ayrton Senna, Viviane, is in charge of the Instituto Ayrton Senna. And her son was driving in one of the lower divisions to Formula One. I told her I would like your son to also be a Hublot ambassador. Why? Because the name is Senna. There is a difference between Bruno and Ayrton Senna, sure, but they both have the same last name. And I said to myself, if I was Hublot’s competitor, I would make a contract with Bruno and play on the confusion of the name Senna. When I was at Omega, when we made a contract with Michael Schumacher, we took [his younger brother] Ralf Schumacher just in case someone wanted to play on the confusion between the two. If this occurred, it would have weakened our involvement with Michael. In fact, we have worked with Bruno Senna for three years but never communicated it because he was driving in Formula Three. But now that he is in F1, we are communicating it! Does it please you to see that the Big Bang is considered today as something of a reference or a classic? Yes, the Big Bang is slowly becoming a classic watch. So, we have made a version that is going into a more sleek understated direction, which goes in the opposite direction of something like the King Power. Already in 2010, you’ve seen the launch of the Alinghi watch with this great function related to yachting and the use of black ceramic and a black composite resin. It has an open movement because the catamaran is also open where you can see everything. We will also see the first live appearance of the UNICO. And we will have an interesting collection for ladies’ watches. How did you manage to come out of the crisis even stronger while others are still reeling from its impact? We did not panic. We did not give up in marketing expenses. We did even more events. When the crisis comes and you see the brand you like diminishing in visibility, you think they are affected. So, when you see a brand continue to be strong, it simply reaffirms that they are strong. During the worse part of the crisis, we increased traveling while others are decreasing travel costs. We spent 2 million Swiss francs more on traveling because I told everybody now is a time for us to go to all our markets and show we are still here. I went once every month to China in 2009. And you see from the results that we are really gaining momentum there. We have kept our visibility and we were constantly in the press, constantly in the market and taking advantage of our great relationship with our partners and friends. With all our success in 2009, I can only say I regret that the crisis has now ended.
Very insightful interview, Wei  . Jean Claude Biver's track record speaks for itself, he is indeed a man with an extraordinary vision!Thanks for sharing with us Suan Futt. Zach T Prime Time Forum Moderator Hublot Forum Moderator
Clearly a very smart guy with a clear vision of where he is going. I read once his personal intervention on Purists about a guy that was offered a watch by his wife for their 20 years marriage, and some parts of the bezel came off. He took care of the matter personally. It was the 1st time i took interest to the brand,... and after digging more n more about it, i end up buying a Power king zirconium as soon as it cam out. I realized that he was the shadow behind me buying that watch  ... Go figure, i always made fun of the zillion of LE's they launch and how they are trying to copy AP.I feel he is the kind of guy that can sell ice cream to eskimos  )Karim
Yes, JC Biver is very passionate about the brand and he stays connected with Hublot fans via forums or emails Congrats to your King Power! Zach T Prime Time Forum Moderator Hublot Forum Moderator
. . . I certainly felt as if the Big Bang was derivative of the Offshore and it was actually a very effective antidote to that supposition to see the "evolution" images Hublot produced, as a way of showing the development of the watch. Over the years I have come to know M. Biver better and I think his success, and Hublot's, is by no means a matter of luck; the sort of hands on, personal approach to client issues he demonstrates is unusual to say the least and it makes you feel as if he is personally standing behind his product. It's something other luxury watch brands ought to consider if they are wondering why Hublot continues to perform so strongly --despite the conventional wisdom that M. Biver is a "marketing genius" the fact is, he offers an awful lot of good old fashioned customer support. Staying in personal contact with his clients and making sure his watches are reliable and that a solid service network is in place --that's not marketing hype, that's old-school client centered customer service. Plus he is one of those rare businesspeople who is both an excellent tactician and a superb strategist; I had a chance to interview him a couple of days ago at the lady's watch/AWF event here in NY at Cipriani (will get you guys some pictures when I have a minute) and it was very clear that he had a systematic long term plan in place for Hublot right from the beginning. Of course, as he mentioned during our conversation, being able to acquire watchmakers, product development know-how, and tooling from BNB gave them a five-year jump on that plan, but he's quite happy about it. Fortune favors the bold  .Jack
"that's old-school client centered customer service" which is as important as what every watch needs sooner or later, in french this is "le service après-vente". Observing how major brands have altered those words in recent years, just highlights why so many customers get more and more upset when entrusting their watches for service and/or repair. It just hits the eye that service has disappeared almost completely. Hence JCB, still offering something everybody did a few years ago, makes customers eat in his hands. Isn't that smart ?MarkS AHCI and Other Fine Independent Watchmakers Forum Moderator
Not many CEO will answer emails personally from collectors Zach T Prime Time Forum Moderator Hublot Forum Moderator
for sharing your experience here with us, much appreciated Zach T Prime Time Forum Moderator Hublot Forum Moderator |    | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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