Tokyo (SCCIJ) – Andersen Genève creates around 50 custom-made watches annually in Switzerland. The manufacturer from Geneva never regretted entering the Japanese market.
Exceptional artisanal watchmaking at Swiss manufacture Andersen Genève (© Andersen).
Attractive market
Since its founding in 1980, ANDERSEN Genève has been offering exceptional watches to an international clientele. Its workshops are in Geneva and La Chaux-de-Fonds. Pierre-Alexandre Aeschlimann, President and CEO, travels the world, including Japan, to make the connection between “his” watches and the enthusiasts who wear them.
He explains his reasons for entering the Japanese market: “Japan has been one of the world’s leading watch buyers for a long time. We also know that the Japanese are lovers of Swiss watchmaking and of Switzerland in general. Both countries share the same values: precision, craftsmanship, and design,” he says.
His marketing strategy was rather simple but effective: “Our goal was therefore to make part of the Japanese customer base aware of the exceptional character of our products. For a small company like ours, the main challenge is to be visible in such a market,” he explains.
Valuable lessons
His long experience holds some valuable lessons for other foreign companies entering the Japanese market. “In Japan, relationships are a key factor. It is also a core value of our work. I personally know 80% of our end customers. The watches we sell are rare items, but we believe that they should be worn and understood by those who buy them,” Aeschlimann says.
The success did not come the easy way. “Japan is a particular market where it is difficult to establish a foothold or find a place at first,” the Andersen CEO admits. “We know, for example, that large companies such as Rolex and Starbucks took a long time to enter this market. We have had a loyal clientele since the 90s, but for a few years we have wanted to find a new audience: younger but with a real love of high-end watchmaking”.
Supporter S-GE
Andersen used the services of Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE) to enter Japan. “We contacted S-GE because we wanted to honor our local customers and launch the limited edition ‘Jumping Hours – Rising Sun Edition’,” he recounts.
“The idea was to showcase ‘Swissness’ in a non-ostentatious place as part of a special event. What could be better than to be able to do so in the house that best symbolizes Switzerland in Japan: the Ambassador’s residence,” the Andersen CEO recounts.
Famous “Bottle Clock”
The history of the brand illustrates how Swiss watchmaking is attracting foreign talent. Svend Andersen, a Dane born in 1942, obtained a diploma from the Danish Watchmaker School integrated into the Royal Technological Institute of Copenhagen. He went to Switzerland in 1963 to see how the world’s best watches were made. He first worked at Gübelin Lucerne in the after-sales service and 1965 he joined Gübelin Geneva.
In 1969 he made, as a hobby, the first Bottle Clock which was displayed at the “Montres et Bijoux” Show. He joined the ”Atelier des grandes complications” of Patek Philippe. Nine years later, he launched his own workshop and manufactured cases for Italian collectors. They started to ask for bespoke timepieces (called “pièce unique”). Since then ANDERSEN Genève has been developing complicated watches like the annual calendar, perpetual calendar, and jumping hour calendar.
Text: Numa Francillon, S-GE (with friendly permission, editing by SCCIJ)
