Cover Matthias Breshcan, CEO of Longines
Matthias Breshcan, CEO of Longines
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Since joining Longines as CEO in 2020, Matthias Breschan has been steadily steering the brand into a new era of excellence
Matthias Breschan joined Longines at the most inopportune time. It was July 1, 2020, the start of the pandemic lockdown. “The day I joined, most of the points of sales around the world were closed. It was a very difficult and very complicated situation,” said Breschan, who came over from Rado where he was the CEO for nine years.
But Longines proved to be made of hardy stock, which didn’t surprise Breschan considering it was consistently among the top 10 Swiss watch brands, with sales of over CHF1 billion in 2022—one of only seven to achieve this feat. Breschan was confident that this buoyant condition would continue.
Read more: Longines Spirit Flyback is a timely reminder of the brand's pioneering roots
Tatler GMT met Breschan in Bangkok where Longines presented its 2023 novelties earlier this year to find out more about his plans for the brand.
Above Jennifer Lawrence, an Ambassador of Elegance of Longines
Jennifer Lawrence, an Ambassador of Elegance of Longines
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How did the pandemic influence your strategy during those tough years?
I think the major change was that we accelerated the rollout of e-commerce. In one year, we had it rolled out in all 33 countries where we had our own subsidiaries. We also tried to enhance the advantages of having a smartly linked online and offline distribution. This is how we see the future: e-commerce will be important but brick-and-mortar will continue to be significant because watches are emotional accessories that you really need to touch and feel.
We also realised that we must prioritise the domestic market. I think in some countries we were just waiting for the tourists to return—there was too much focus on the tourists.
Above Regé-Jean Page, an Ambassador of Elegance of Longines
Regé-Jean Page, an Ambassador of Elegance of Longines
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How did you pivot away from this reliance on tourists?
We changed the whole marketing mix. For instance, in Europe, they love steel sport watches but the tourists to this region prefer elegant dress watches. If the locals couldn’t find sport watches in the boutiques, they would not consider the brand anymore. I think we corrected that in the assortment of products we have at our points of sale.
We changed the layout of the boutiques for a younger, fresher feel. We also levelled up our communication with the signing of Jennifer Lawrence as our ambassador. [Lawrence] is one of the most elegant ladies and she perfectly fits the brand. Then we have Regé-Jean Page [of Bridgerton fame] who is very popular with the young clientele.
One thing that was done away with were products created for just one region. Now what you see is an international collection, although within each family there are differences. In Europe, our bestselling ladies’ watch is the Dolce Vita, while in Asia, it is the Prima Luna. We have these types of specificities but the brand mix in our boutiques is the same globally.
Above Longines Master Collection (Photo: Xerxes Lee; Styling: Sarah Saw)
Longines Master Collection (Photo: Xerxes Lee; Styling: Sarah Saw)
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What do you think is Longines’ strongest asset?
Its pioneering spirit. At the beginning of the last century, there were so many pioneers who were discovering the sea, the sky, and the land. They needed very reliable navigation and timing instruments, and Longines was definitely one of the pioneers in this field.
How did that translate into this year’s novelties?
The keywords in our DNA are “watchmaking tradition” and “elegance”. And I think the collection perfectly represents these two pillars. The new Dolce Vita is the perfect example of how we’re enhancing our ladies’ collection. And when you look at the [Spirit] Flyback, you see pieces that are linked to our innovative heritage.
So it’s all about balancing history to come up with exciting contemporary interpretations.
Exactly.
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Brian Cheong leads the watch (Tatler GMT) and jewellery content at Tatler Malaysia, combining sharp editorial insight with years of luxury lifestyle experience. A seasoned journalist in luxury watches based in Kuala Lumpur, Brian had previously helmed World of Watches, Men's Folio and Prestige Malaysia.
