Brands are created, others die. Should we remember that? Paradoxically, no. Because if an independent brand were to launch, it would not know how to choose when to do so. 2000s ? Delicate, the large groups were structuring themselves and “independent watchmaking” had almost no recognition. 2006-2008? Lehman Brothers, subprime: not really the right timing. 2014 ? European crisis. 2018? Stock market mini-crash. 2019? Covid. If you hesitate too much, you never start. If the idea is good and the product is too, you should not wait for the opportunity, but create it.
This is what Genus chose to do. The brand was created 6 years ago, released its first model 3 years ago. It’s the immediate jackpot, with a GPHG prize from this first year of marketing (Mechanical Exception category). Today, Genus makes about fifteen pieces a year, for an average price ranging from 120 to 140,000 CHF. That’s it for the start. All that remains is to build the brand.
GPHG 2019 Genus Trophy © GPHG
Know your client
Catherine Henry, co-founder, now has some perspective on the business. And on Genus’ sales model in the first place: “We have a few retailers and sometimes also work directly, because what takes precedence over everything else is knowing the customer”. This is indeed a major challenge for Genus, of which a large number of models are personalized – whether purchased in store or directly.
GNS1.2 TD © Genus
Slip into the gaps
Second observation: the necessary reactivity. “When a customer wants his watch, he wants it as soon as possible. It’s up to us to adapt, even if he calls us on a Sunday morning”. But answering the phone is not enough and Catherine Henry immediately adds: “What counts is as much a good understanding of the customer’s request as being able to quickly achieve what he wants. This implies having good relations with its partners”. But while one would think Genus in a weak position to order a dial here, a setting there, faced with massive orders from large groups that tend to take precedence among subcontractors, Catherine Henry observes the opposite. “On the contrary, we manage to slip into the interstices of these major orders. Our requests are very unitary, very specific, and with respect and kindness, we always end up finding an arrangement”.
GNS1.1 RG © Genus
1.5 times harder
An arrangement…for customizations, not for pure product development. “Indeed, developing a new complication costs between 1 and 3 million francs,” explains Catherine Henry. An investment that is not currently planned for Genus. The (one and only) movement currently offered, however, has the technical capacity (free space and torque) to cause a possible additional complication. There is no doubt that the sketchbooks are already full…
There remains trust in the brand, a decisive element in the act of purchase. On this point, Catherine Henry recalls the ancestry of independent watchmakers. “We are following in the footsteps of Max Büsser and Felix Baumgartner. When they started 20 years ago, it was twice as hard for them as for a band. Today, they paved the way, it’s only 1.5 times harder for us! “, smiles the interested party.
GNS1.2 RG © Genus