This is just in from Bovet regarding their new strategic partner - not just a distribution deal, pals and gals, but also now a shareholder. Here's the unfiltered info:
PRESS RELEASE
DKSH and BOVET in strategic partnership
DKSH Holding Ltd.
Date: August 28, 2012
DKSH, the leading Market Expansion Services provider with a focus on Asia, and the Swiss luxury watchmaker BOVET, have signed a long-term collaboration agreement for enhancing the position of BOVET timepieces in Asia. DKSH will assume marketing, sales and after-sales services throughout Asia, while also taking a strategic shareholding in BOVET and both its manufacturing facilities (DIMIER), thereby allowing for cooperation in the production and supply of watch components.
Zurich, Switzerland, August 28, 2012 – DKSH rigorously continues the strategic expansion of its Luxury & Lifestyle business. Following the selective expansion of its marketing, sales, and after-sales services network in the luxury and lifestyle goods sector by acquiring the long-established trading houses Desco von Schulthess and Hagemeyer-Cosa Liebermann, plus the marketing and distribution rights to, and controlling majority in Maurice Lacroix, the luxury goods activities of DKSH are being strengthened by a further significant strategic partnership. DKSH is taking on the exclusive marketing and distribution rights for BOVET timepieces in the Asia region, thereby complementing its high-status product portfolio in the premium segment. Moreover, DKSH is acquiring a strategic shareholding of 20% in BOVET, which covers both the BOVET 1822 brand and its two production facilities for horological components under the name of DIMIER. This move generates valuable synergies in manufacturing collaboration and in the supply of strategically vital components for watches.
“Today, the Asia Pacific region is the biggest market for Swiss luxury timepieces. We see DKSH, the leading independent provider for marketing, sales, and distribution of premium luxury goods in Asia, as the ideal partner for professionally marketing our premium BOVET timepieces in the growing Asian markets,” says Pascal Raffy, owner of BOVET 1822 and DIMIER 1738.
He goes on to say: “Promising perspectives are opening up through this strategic partnership. With the in-depth market expertise of DKSH in Asia and its comprehensive network, we are confident in the further dynamic growth of BOVET in this region.”
This strategic partnership with BOVET further strengthens the position of DKSH as the leading independent services provider for the marketing, sales and distribution of premium luxury goods in Asia. In addition to its blanket distribution network across Asia, DKSH also employs its own watchmakers in the core markets of Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, and China, ensuring professional and prompt after-sales services for those exclusive luxury brands.
Dr. Joerg Wolle, CEO & President of DKSH Holding: “We are proud of being able to represent BOVET when dealing with our long-established Asian customers. BOVET timepieces are synonymous with the highest levels of Swiss watchmaking art and technological innovation.”
“We are highly enthusiastic about the growth potentials and synergies that will be generated by the strategic linking of our comprehensive marketing, sales and after-sales services network throughout Asia with the manufacturing competence of one of Switzerland’s most exclusive and prestigious watch brands,” adds Gonpo Tsering, Member of Group Management and responsible for the Business Segment Luxury & Lifestyle at DKSH.
Both parties have agreed not to disclose any financial details of this transaction.
About DKSH Group
DKSH is the leading Market Expansion Services Group with a focus on Asia. As the term "Market Expansion Services" suggests, DKSH helps other companies and brands to grow their business in new or existing markets.
Publicly listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since March 2012, DKSH is a global company headquartered in Zurich. With 650 business locations in 35 countries – 630 of them in Asia, DKSH employs Group-wide 26,000 specialized staff. In 2011, DKSH generated net sales of CHF 7.3 billion.
The company offers a tailor-made, integrated portfolio of sourcing, marketing, sales, distribution, and after-sales services. It provides business partners with expertise as well as on-the-ground logistics based on a comprehensive network of unique size and depth. Business activities are organized into four specialized Business Units that mirror DKSH fields of expertise: Consumer Goods, Healthcare, Performance Materials, and Technology.
With strong Swiss heritage, the company has an almost 150-year-long tradition of doing business in and with Asia, and is deeply rooted in communities and businesses across Asia Pacific.
About BOVET
BOVET timepieces are magnificent works of art, whose origins date back to 1822, the year in which Edouard and Alphonse Bovet founded their workshop in the picturesque Val-de-Travers region of Switzerland, shortly thereafter venturing into the China market and so becoming the first and foremost provider of exotic pocket watches to the Emperors and their courts. Today, under the guidance of Pascal Raffy, a visionary with a passion for Haute Horlogerie, BOVET is thriving, manufacturing exquisite and unique timepieces distinguished by their elegant pocket watch-inspired design, sumptuous details, and rare specialties.
From extraordinary complications with a focus on in-house tourbillons, to rare artisanal decorative crafts such as miniature paintings and fleurisanne engravings, each BOVET timepiece is brought patiently to life under the expertise and skill of its master watchmakers. BOVET seeks to preserve and cultivate the art and craft of traditional watchmaking, whilst taking it to new heights, much to the delight of the the most discerning connoisseurs and collectors throughout the world.
