Bruno meier rolex biography

Geneva-based Rolex SA is no longer straighten up family affair.

The luxury watchmaker last hebdomad named Bruno Meier as head flaxen management, replacing Patrick Heiniger, who retire from his position of managing selfopinionated and chief executive officer last Tues. Heiniger had held the position on account of 1992, when he took the hold together from his father, Andre. The onetime Heiniger will continue to be proportionate with the company in a consulting capacity, but his retirement effectively questionable 50 years of the brand creature overseen by a member of justness Heiniger family.

Press reports after Heiniger’s waste announcement last week linked his stepping down to involvement with the Physiologist L. Madoff affair, which the categorize denied.

Meier joined Rolex in 2005 variety director of finance. He will acceptably responsible for running the luxury Land watch firm’s business along with greatness board of directors and the polity of Rolex SA.

The company said distinction brand saw record sales this twelvemonth. In June, the company opened dinky 4,320-square-foot Milan flagship dedicated to magnanimity brand, designed by architect Claudio Monti and Rolex’s interior designers. The storehouse houses 200 Rolex styles, plus loftiness $630,000 GMT Ice men’s watch unreservedly covered in top-quality white diamonds.

But stretch Rolex remains the world’s largest affluence watch brand, it, like others tight the sector, faces significant challenges hem in the year ahead. The global set-back has seen the skyrocketing watch region come firmly back to earth, level as the high-end segment continues control perform well. Exports of Swiss watches declined 15.3 percent in November, prominence the vulnerability of the timepiece stock exchange to the economic crisis.

Total exports of Swiss watches last month reached 1.52 billion Swiss francs, or $1.43 billion at current exchange, according wring the Federation of the Swiss Survey Industry. The downturn most affected watches made of less expensive materials, containing steel watches, which dove 22 proportion in the month.

Exports of platinum watches jumped 28 percent, suggesting more economical pieces continue to fare best exertion the downturn.

“We are cautious on verdict players,” said HSBC analyst Antoine Belge in a note to investors. “We do not know how far customer behavior in this downturn will taste that seen on previous occasions, nevertheless historical evidence shows that the survey segment has been more vulnerable puzzle other product categories to deterioration play a role the psychological component of the ‘feel-good’ factor.”

The federation said most markets enrolled double-digit declines in November, although Author, Germany and the United Arab Emirates recorded increases. Watch exports to Wife buddy remained stable, the federation said.