PARIS — Audemars Piguet is bolstering its manufacturing muscle with the purchase of a majority stake in Swiss precision manufacturer Inhotec, the watchmaker said Wednesday.
Lucas Raggi, Audemars Piguet’s chief industrial officer, characterized the move as an “investment…built on shared values” that is about “consolidating strategic key skills and supporting the continuity of an expertise that is essential to the future of haute horlogerie, not only for Audemars Piguet, but for the entire industry.”
Founded in 2011 and based in the Swiss city of Le Locle, a major watchmaking hub, the company is specialized in precision manufacturing of watch components for high-end timepieces as well as watch blanks.
“This partnership marks an important milestone in Inhotec’s history,” Inhotec founder and chief executive officer Alexandre Eme said. “Audemars Piguet’s investment is a strong vote of confidence in our team, our expertise and our long-term potential. By joining forces, we are creating the conditions for Inhotec to continue innovating and serving the entire watchmaking industry.”
Under the deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, the manufacturer will continue to operate as an autonomous company will fully responsibility over its managerial decisions, industrial activities and commercial relationships. It will continue to work with “existing and future” clients, including other watch brands.
Eme will retain “a significant minority stake” in the company and continue to serve as CEO and chairman of the board.
Audemars Piguet said it would “now provide strategic and financial support” to the company.
News of this deal, which Audemars Piguet characterized as a way to “to preserve and strengthen the Swiss watchmaking industrial ecosystem and its own industrial independence,” comes as the Swiss watchmaking industry gets ready for what promises to be an extremely challenging period.
Watchmakers are bracing for the upcoming impact of a nunfavorable conjunction of slowing consumption, including in luxury, as well as the proposed 39 percent tariff on Swiss imports to the U.S. that came into effect on Aug. 7.