Chanel’s acquisition of a 25 % stake in unbiased watchmaker MB&F (Maximilian Büsser & Mates, based in 2005) marks a seamless development in Swiss watchmaking. This isn’t about massive manufacturers muscling in on small ones nor the forging of group identities and techniques. Chanel does name its funding “strategic,” and it’s little question taken with the lengthy view in thoughts. Chanel, a luxurious behemoth that wants little introduction, calls MB&F a “high-end artistic watchmaker,” which is a tremendous acknowledgment of what the watchmaking model has change into. Model founder Max Büsser all the time emphasised that the Mates have been the watchmakers, along with his enter being on the artistic and enterprise sides. We really feel assured in saying this Chanel transfer was orchestrated by Büsser, maybe in a lot the identical approach that he assembles the titular Mates when he goals up a brand new watch.
Certainly, when the information dropped into our inboxes right here, we remembered that Chanel had been a part of the story because the starting. Casemaker GF Chatelain was one of many first few Mates, making circumstances and buckles for MB&F; Chanel purchased GF Chatelain in 1993 and it continues to play a component in MB&F manufacturing as we speak (primarily in buckles, in response to MB&F). The historical past right here is evident then, and Chanel’s behavior of taking stakes in small independents equivalent to Romain Gauthier (2011) and FP Journe (2018) makes this story really feel very palatable. The luxurious model has not intruded on the independence of those watchmakers and we don’t count on issues to be any completely different at MB&F.
After all, questions will stay about Büsser’s goals however we will solely report on what is understood, greatest summarised right here in a quote from the person, issued within the presser for this information. “It was our duty, in as we speak’s very favorable context and with our administration workforce in its prime, to take this main step to make sure our long-term future – a pure evolution for an organization celebrating its twentieth anniversary subsequent yr. Along with permitting us to pursue our unbiased path, freed from any strain on progress, the funding by Chanel will strengthen our operations by offering entry when wanted to their wider ecosystem and community of specialized suppliers.”
The press launch notes that Büsser stays the bulk MB&F shareholder, at 60 %, whereas his associate Serge Kriknoc owns 15 %. Büsser and Kriknoc have been beforehand the one acknowledged stakeholders within the agency; Kriknoc’s share stays unchanged main us to presume that Chanel’s stake was carved out of Büsser’s. Chanel’s observe file reveals that enterprise will proceed as standard at MB&F, and we’ll take Büsser at his phrase that the agency is rather more than a automobile for merely maximising returns. The beloved kinetic machines of loving time will preserve proper on ticking, simply as Romain Gauthier and FP Journe’s watches do. It’s value noting that Chanel can also be a significant shareholder in Bell & Ross, and that the corporate’s executives have all the time maintained that the French agency has by no means pressured them about progress. For his half, Büsser has all the time maintained that he by no means wished financiers or cash males within the image due to this strain for progress, and he has immediately addressed that time within the official launch.
What does Chanel say about all this? Right here is Frédéric Grangié, President of Chanel Watches & Nice Jewelry, on the information: “We’re delighted to signal a strategic partnership with MB&F who share the identical values of independence, creativity, and excellence. The announcement is a part of our long-term technique to proceed to protect, develop and put money into specialist know-how and experience, reaffirming our place in high-end watchmaking.”
MB&F retails in Singapore solely through The Hourglass
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