Timeless: Nicolas Hayek, face behind the Swatch: Nicolas Hayek--the man who is credited with the revival of the Swiss watch industry--speaks with Swiss News about what propels his success, offers a forecast for the Swatch Group's future, and showcases his company's replication of Breguet's magnum opus.
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His eyes are penetrating, yet gentle and intelligent. For a man of his prominence and stature, Hayek is modest, unimposing and possesses an infectious child-like enthusiasm.
Some people regard him as an enigma, while others claim that understanding him is as easy as reading an open book. The head of the Swatch Group--and many other smaller industrial empires--80-year-old Hayek claims he's really a child at heart.
"I am a simple person who believes in Santa Claus, in miracles. They are all real for me. I believe and I go ahead with my beliefs. That keeps me going--in life--and in business.
"When I said I'd make Swatch what it is today, people laughed. Little audacious man with a crazy mind--they said. But I believed in it. And I did it!"
Under his leadership, the Swatch Group has become the number-one manufacturer of finished watches in the world, and achieved sales of over 5.94 billion Swiss francs in 2007, which was up nearly 18 per cent from 2006.
Hayek, born in Lebanon in 1928, jumpstarted his reputation in the world of watches in the early 1980s when he engineered the reorganisation and merger of the struggling Swiss watch companies Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie (ASUAG) and Societe Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogere (SSIH). The merged companies became SMH, the Swiss Corporation for Microelectronics and Watchmaking Industries Ltd.
In 1986, Hayek became the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of SMH. In 1998, the company was renamed the Swatch Group.
The recovery of what became the Swatch Group and its watch brands--including Swatch, Breguet, Blancpain, Omega, Longines, Jaquet Droz, Rado, Tissot, Certina, Mido, Pierre Balmain, Flik Flak and Endura, to name a few--established the Swiss watch industry as an undisputed worldwide leader.
But there is more to this success story than innovation, precision and excellence in technology. Hayek credits the 'Swiss factor'.
The Swiss factor
"I think people often say the watch industry is so special because it's Swiss," Hayek says.
"Look at the houses, gardens, railroads here ... it's all so perfect, neat and precise. The Swiss discuss and find solutions. The Red Cross, UN, etc. are all here. It's safe. The way we live ... is special and--it's Swiss.
"So, yes, even if [Breguet watches, for example] are so expensive, we will continue to sell--and sell well. We sell the mentality of Switzerland," Hayek declares.
He is proud of both his...
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