Providing point-of-sale displays for watches costing many thousands of dollars is a US$120m business for Agsa Asia
Raphael Genoud has tried without success to find an upmarket watch shop that does not use his company's point-of-sale materials. 'In Hong Kong it's impossible,' says the irrepressible chief executive of Agsa Asia, ringing the large cowbell in his office loudly in case any of his 18 staff here forget his Swiss origins.
Mr Genoud must be one of the most travelled people in town, describing himself as a 'ping-pong ball between China and Hong Kong' who has accrued four million Swiss air miles. 'After a while you don't know where you live,' he admits.
At 19 he left the family business in Switzerland and headed east. He set up on his own but instead of making point-of-sale displays for shops like his father, he made premiums and other promotional items, sourcing products in Taiwan and China before selling the business after six years.
He went to Thailand, supposedly for a rest but ever the workaholic, his fingers were soon flicking through the Bangkok Yellow Pages. He cold called the listed premiums companies, telling them they needed his services. 'Four asked 'Why do we need you?' and the fifth one gave me a job,' he says.
A year later it was 1993, he was 26 and the time was right to accept his father's invitation to join the family business in Switzerland.
