The flagship of Swiss haute horlogerie, founded in 1868, continues to grow. Its charismatic outgoing CEO, François-Henry Bennahmias, is forecasting record annual sales of 2.4 billion Swiss francs in 2023, with historically low inventories.
In order to maintain this dynamism, Audemars Piguet is beefing up its production facilities and strengthening its presence in the United States, with a fifteenth AP House.
Record sales for 2023
In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, François-Henry Bennahmias confirms that the watchmaking sector is definitely not in crisis. He claims that 2023 represents a new sales record for Audemars Piguet at 2.4 billion Swiss francs ($2.7 billion or 2.5 billion euros), “outperforming the sector” and confirming its status as the fourth-largest Swiss brand in terms of revenues.
An illustrious member of the “Holy Trinity” of Swiss watchmaking, due to the complexity of its mechanisms and the high level of finishing of its models – alongside Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin – the company currently produces close to 50,000 watches a year, each of these exceptional timepieces being sold at an average price of 50,000 francs.
While the CEO is satisfied, he is wary of triumphalism in view of the slowdown in the US and Chinese economies, as well as heightened geopolitical tensions.
In a tone half foreboding, half prophetic, he tells the American business media, “Audemars Piguet’s strength doesn’t mean that the world can’t enter a slightly more troubled period”.
As for those who fear overproduction, the current CEO assures them: “It’s unprecedented”, referring to historically low inventories.
A fitting end to a thirty-year career with the Bassus brand. During his tenure as CEO – which began in 2013 – Bennahamias has made the Royal Oak more desirable than ever, and propelled the watch brand to new heights.
To meet this growing demand, Audemars Piguet has just laid the foundation stone for a new industrial building.
The handover of the reins to Ilaria Resta, a former Procter & Gamble executive, expected at the end of 2023, should not dampen the brand’s ambitions.
Meyrin factory doubles in size
In order to increase its annual production capacity to a minimum of 56,000 units by 2025, Audemars Piguet is expanding its Meyrin-Satigny factory in the canton of Geneva. Meyrin-Satigny is the canton’s fourth most populous city, after Geneva, Vernier and Lancy, and is less than 60 km from the company’s headquarters in Le Brassus.
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Read also > AUDEMARS PIGUET APPOINTS NEW CEO
Front page photo: Le Brassus headquarters © Audemars Piguet
