reporter2
07-10-13, 14:30
http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/life/story/time-get-hip-20131007
Time to get hip
Luxury watch-maker chairman Jean-Claude Biver roped in hip-hop star Jay Z for Hublot
Published on Oct 07, 2013
By Eddino Abdul Hadi
The chairman of luxury Swiss watch-maker Hublot is 64, lives on a farm in Switzerland and makes his own cheese.
But Mr Jean-Claude Biver, a revered name in the luxury watch industry, is also hip to pop culture. The brand's latest partnership, for example, is with hip-hop star Jay Z.
The watch-making company is set to release a limited-edition series named after the rapper's real name, Shawn Carter By Hublot, that Jay Z had a hand in designing.
Speaking to Life! at the offices of watch retailer The Hour Glass last week, Mr Biver explains that the hip-hop icon's relatively young and urban fan base may not necessarily be luxury watch buyers, but they represent the future.
"He fits perfectly well to our future consumer, which are the kids. Jay Z has an incredible audience among the young between 15 and 30. And they are the ones who will buy our watches in 10 years.
"The customer for now has never been our priority, we have always looked for the customer of tomorrow."
Such forward thinking has helped Mr Biver rejuvenate not just Hublot, which he joined in 2004 as chief executive officer, but also, prior to that, watch-makers such as Omega and Blancpain.
Within four years of leading Hublot, the company's turnover increased from 25 million Swiss francs to more than 200 million Swiss francs (S$275 million).
Besides Jay Z, the other personalities that the brand counts as ambassadors and partners include Chinese star Jet Li, world's fastest runner Usain Bolt and basketball star Kobe Bryant as well as popular French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain.
In Singapore to attend The 12th Annual Wild Rice Charity Gala last Friday night as guest of honour, Mr Biver counts the award-winning Big Bang series of chronograph watches as one of his contributions to Hublot.
One of the brand's best-selling series, he says that his strategy was to have one of Hublot's old models from 1980 undergo a "facelift".
Says Mr Biver, who was wearing a Big Bang watch during the interview: "In 2004, the Hublot watch was totally outdated, fully old-fashioned. So we said, 'We must not destroy the DNA of this brand but let's make a facelift, let's go to the best doctor who will rework its face and body.'"
Unlike other luxury brands, Hublot is not afraid of controversy.
Case in point: the 2010 advertising campaign featuring the battered and bruised face of Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
Sporting the tagline "See what people will do for a Hublot", it was a real and untouched picture of the F1 mogul soon after he was attacked by four men who stole his £200,000 (S$399,500) Hublot watch.
Mr Biver, a father of five, acknowledges that the company drew flak for running that advertisement, but he says that it was Ecclestone's idea.
"A lot of people didn't realise that he was the one who wanted us to do it. A lot of people wrote to me, 'You are taking advantage of an injured person.' But you cannot create a buzz and expect everybody to be in favour of it."
Mr Biver, who has one granddaughter, stepped down as the company's chief executive officer last year and took on the role of chairman. Whenever he gets a break from his busy schedule, he makes artisan cheese at his farm in the Swiss alps.
He has no plans to go into business with the cheese though, and gives it only to selected friends, families and business partners. "That is my passion. I hope in three years, I will be able to spend more time making my cheese."
[email protected]
Time to get hip
Luxury watch-maker chairman Jean-Claude Biver roped in hip-hop star Jay Z for Hublot
Published on Oct 07, 2013
By Eddino Abdul Hadi
The chairman of luxury Swiss watch-maker Hublot is 64, lives on a farm in Switzerland and makes his own cheese.
But Mr Jean-Claude Biver, a revered name in the luxury watch industry, is also hip to pop culture. The brand's latest partnership, for example, is with hip-hop star Jay Z.
The watch-making company is set to release a limited-edition series named after the rapper's real name, Shawn Carter By Hublot, that Jay Z had a hand in designing.
Speaking to Life! at the offices of watch retailer The Hour Glass last week, Mr Biver explains that the hip-hop icon's relatively young and urban fan base may not necessarily be luxury watch buyers, but they represent the future.
"He fits perfectly well to our future consumer, which are the kids. Jay Z has an incredible audience among the young between 15 and 30. And they are the ones who will buy our watches in 10 years.
"The customer for now has never been our priority, we have always looked for the customer of tomorrow."
Such forward thinking has helped Mr Biver rejuvenate not just Hublot, which he joined in 2004 as chief executive officer, but also, prior to that, watch-makers such as Omega and Blancpain.
Within four years of leading Hublot, the company's turnover increased from 25 million Swiss francs to more than 200 million Swiss francs (S$275 million).
Besides Jay Z, the other personalities that the brand counts as ambassadors and partners include Chinese star Jet Li, world's fastest runner Usain Bolt and basketball star Kobe Bryant as well as popular French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain.
In Singapore to attend The 12th Annual Wild Rice Charity Gala last Friday night as guest of honour, Mr Biver counts the award-winning Big Bang series of chronograph watches as one of his contributions to Hublot.
One of the brand's best-selling series, he says that his strategy was to have one of Hublot's old models from 1980 undergo a "facelift".
Says Mr Biver, who was wearing a Big Bang watch during the interview: "In 2004, the Hublot watch was totally outdated, fully old-fashioned. So we said, 'We must not destroy the DNA of this brand but let's make a facelift, let's go to the best doctor who will rework its face and body.'"
Unlike other luxury brands, Hublot is not afraid of controversy.
Case in point: the 2010 advertising campaign featuring the battered and bruised face of Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
Sporting the tagline "See what people will do for a Hublot", it was a real and untouched picture of the F1 mogul soon after he was attacked by four men who stole his £200,000 (S$399,500) Hublot watch.
Mr Biver, a father of five, acknowledges that the company drew flak for running that advertisement, but he says that it was Ecclestone's idea.
"A lot of people didn't realise that he was the one who wanted us to do it. A lot of people wrote to me, 'You are taking advantage of an injured person.' But you cannot create a buzz and expect everybody to be in favour of it."
Mr Biver, who has one granddaughter, stepped down as the company's chief executive officer last year and took on the role of chairman. Whenever he gets a break from his busy schedule, he makes artisan cheese at his farm in the Swiss alps.
He has no plans to go into business with the cheese though, and gives it only to selected friends, families and business partners. "That is my passion. I hope in three years, I will be able to spend more time making my cheese."
[email protected]