News In this period of pronounced economic slowdown, rare are the watchmakers that are able to record growth in their turnover and/or profit. Franck Muller however is in that fortunate position. Even better: both in 2002 and during the first seven months of this year, the firm's increases have been in two figures!
Turnover in 2002 of the company Franck Muller Watchland increased in fact by 54.1% compared to the previous year, with net profit rising by 67.6% over the same period. In the same year, the firm sold 48,678 watches, compared to 35,770 in 2001 (+36.1%), and posted dazzling increases in its main markets (Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific area). Its products include models in yellow, red and pink gold (34%), white gold (31%), platinum (1%) and steel (34%).
Although affected by the SARS epidemic, the war in Iraq and the gloomy economic situation, as indeed was the sector as a whole, the Genthod based watch manufacturer recorded two-figure growth from January to July 2003 in its sales (+15.5%) and its net profit (+19.3%) compared to the same period last year. On the basis of ongoing orders, it is also counting on growth of slightly more than 20% for the year as a whole and is already forecasting further two-figure increases for 2004.
To explain its success, the Geneva based firm points to the important sales effort it deploys (opening of stores, corners and other points of sale), its responsiveness, enabling it to place very quickly on the market models that meet consumer expectations, and the exceptional start-up of the brands Pierre Kunz and European Company Watch (ECW), as well as the regular launch of new products. In our photo, the extraordinary Tourbillon Révolution 2, unveiled last April, which is to the wristwatch what the tourbillon is to the pocket watch: it simplifies the differences of setting in the vertical and horizontal positions. Thus, the two indicators placed respectively at 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock permit the rotation time of the tourbillon to be read on two axes. The hand on the 7 o'clock sector indicates the 60 seconds of rotation of the tourbillon on its first axis, while the hand on the 5 o'clock sector indicates the 8 minutes that the tourbillon takes to rotate about its second axis.
September 11, 2003
