Swiss watch brand Revue Thommen relaunches in Hong Kong under ex-Chopard exec
Roland Buser hopes brand can play its part in reviving Swiss watchmaking, but admits it isn't the best time to be resurrecting a marque that's long suffered from chaotic management and lack of focus
Watch presentations are usually conservative affairs, reflecting not only the rather staid conventional thinking of those running Swiss brands, but also the canonical belief in the industry of adhering as closely as possible to a history and image of Switzerland that only really exists in marketing campaigns.
So it was rather unorthodox when Swiss brand Revue Thommen invited a beatboxer to entertain guests gathered for its launch in Hong Kong last month.
The unconventional entertainment mirrors neatly the unconventional recent history of Revue Thommen, a brand established in 1853 in the Swiss town of Waldenburg and famed more perhaps for the aviation instruments made by the parent company than the watch side of the business.
These are people we know, family friends, cousins. If we can help everyone in the valley that would be a dream
For years, Revue Thommen's watches suffered from a lack of investment and chaotic management that saw the brand sub-licensed to several companies in various markets around the world.
Now, led by former Chopard executive Roland Buser, a brighter future seemingly beckons for Revue Thommen. Buser garnered a reputation as something of a start-up specialist at Chopard as he was "there when we started the Hong Kong and Beijing offices from scratch", he says, so starting again from square one is not an unfamiliar position for the Swiss. Mainly though, Buser was looking for a project that had passion at its heart.
