On the launch of its new co-branded watch with Ferrari—priced at an eye-popping 1.35 million Swiss francs—Richard Mille stated it had been unaffected by the Swiss watch trade’s latest battles.
“We all know the market is hard for some manufacturers, however we’re fortunate sufficient to not face that in the mean time,” stated Maxime Guenat, the corporate’s basic director. “However we all know we’re not resistant to this.”
Richard Mille, an unbiased model which makes lower than 6,000 very costly watches annually, had estimated annual revenues of round 1.5 billion Swiss France ($1.7 billion) final 12 months, in accordance with Morgan Stanley, up 200 million on 2023.
Guenat, the 32-year-old son of Richard Mille co-founder Dominique, says limiting manufacturing had been key to sustaining demand and avoiding placing staff on the Swiss partial furlough scheme some rival watchmakers have resorted to over the previous 12 months. “After Covid, we didn’t produce a lot as a result of we noticed the market going loopy,” he stated. “It wasn’t our plan to observe what the others have been doing at that second. We have been cautious.”
However he famous a number of the model’s suppliers have been in hassle because the Swiss watch trade’s manufacturing volumes proceed to slip. “Some will shut,” he stated. “And they’re going to lose their know-how. So we attempt to assist as a lot as attainable, by giving orders 18 months prematurely and permitting them to ship early if they’ve money points. We’re not Rolex, producing over a million watches a 12 months, however we attempt to stick near our suppliers.”
Guenat was talking in Paris yesterday because the unbiased Swiss watchmaker introduced it was in superior talks to resume its five-year partnership with Ferrari, the Italian supercar producer. The information was accompanied by the launch of the RM 43-01 Tourbillon Break up-Seconds Chronograph Ferrari, a $1.5 million watch whose manufacturing might be restricted to 150 items.
The announcement comes simply weeks after seven-time System 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton was first seen within the crimson race overalls of Ferrari, carrying Richard Mille’s $590,000 RM 74-02 mannequin. This weekend, Hamilton will race for Ferrari on the System 1 Chinese language Grand Prix.
Richard Mille has been in System 1 since 2004 and advertises its watches as “racing machines on the wrist”, however the Ferrari partnership’s advertising worth to the corporate is more likely to be notably vital since Hamilton signed. The British driver, 40, has 39 million followers on Instagram, whereas Ferrari and Scuderia Ferrari, the Italian automotive maker’s System 1 race crew, have round 40 million followers between them.
On the identical time, F1 fan numbers have elevated by 50 million since 2021 to 750 million, in accordance with a report launched by Nielsen Sports activities in December. Nielsen additionally calculated that final 12 months, System 1 attracted a worldwide TV viewers of 1.5 billion, making it the world’s most adopted sports activities sequence.
A multi-brand advertising deal between the sequence and luxurious big LVMH nudged out Rolex from its spot as official timekeeper, with the group’s TAG Heuer unit reclaiming the excessive visibility sponsorship. However Richard Mille’s Ferrari is the newest signal that opponents gained’t again down from investing within the fast-growing sport simply due to LVMH’s prime place.
Whereas Richard Mille declined to place a worth on its Ferrari partnership, Nielsen’s report indicated common F1 crew sponsorship offers have been up 56 p.c on pre-pandemic figures, rising from $2.87 million per deal in 2019, to $5.08 million as we speak, and that these accounted for six.6 p.c of “all whole international sports activities sponsorship income” final 12 months.
Ferrari reported report gross sales and working earnings final 12 months — up by double-digits regardless of a sluggish Chinese language financial system that pounded luxurious automakers. Its watch partnership with Richard Mille comes amid a broader push to upscale its provide in classes past its iconic sports activities vehicles. Since 2021, a luxurious ready-to-wear and equipment assortment has changed a earlier trend line dominated by shiny crimson polo shirts.
The brand new Ferrari watch’s unique launch date had been final 12 months. However representatives stated the delayed supply date’s timing with Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari was a coincidence.
“We had a difficulty with the watch and took the choice to push it again,” stated the corporate’s industrial director Alexandre Mille, the 38-year-old son of firm founder Richard. “Every week later, it was introduced that Lewis was becoming a member of the crew. The connection may be very simple for us. Ferrari is the head of historical past within the racing world, within the automotive world, and nonetheless very related as we speak. To be aligned with that could be a actual plus.”
Neither Hamilton nor his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc might be contracted to put on the brand new watch, though Mille stated that “in the event that they need to put on the watch, they’ll be capable to.” Richard Mille additionally works with McLaren and counts the winner of final week’s Australian Grand Prix Lando Norris as an envoy.
Mille stated the watch had taken two years to carry to market. There might be two variations, one with a titanium case and a second in a high-tech materials known as Carbon TPT that shares most of the light-weight and resistant properties of supplies utilized in a System 1 automotive.
Guenat stated round 30 items of the RM 43-01 had been produced thus far and that the manufacturing run be could be accomplished someday subsequent 12 months. He stated the watch had not been pre-sold and no precedence was as a consequence of be given to Ferrari clients. “Clearly, we already know that the client might be , as a result of from the second we signed the partnership Ferrari clients have been asking for the subsequent watch, even with out seeing it,” stated Mille.
Richard Mille is known to be certainly one of Switzerland’s six largest watchmakers by income, behind Rolex, Cartier, Omega, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe. Its emergence as a Swiss watchmaking superpower took the trade unexpectedly. Based in 2001 by trade veteran Richard Mille, who’s French, it constructed a popularity for high-tech watches with sky-high costs on the again of high-profile sports activities partnerships.
In 2004, the model’s first ambassador was the Brazilian racing driver Felipe Massa. Massa, who attended yesterday’s launch, stated he had been driving for the Sauber F1 Workforce on the time and had not been paid by the watchmaker that first 12 months, however that he had been given an RM006 watch, certainly one of round 300 made by Richard Mille that 12 months, to put on whereas racing.
This set the mannequin: sports activities stars resembling Rafael Nadal, Mark Cavendish and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce have since worn the corporate’s light-weight, extremely resistant watches, whereas taking part in, the place attainable, their sport. Richard Mille has additionally labored with Pharrell Williams and John Malkovich.
“We’ve at all times labored in sport as a result of it was a great take a look at mattress for our watches,” stated Tim Malachard, Richard Mille’s international advertising director at yesterday’s occasion. “And naturally, particular person sports activities gave us visibility.”
French and Swiss Racing driver Romain Grosjean was carrying a Richard Mille watch when he was concerned in a terrifying crash on the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. Each driver and watch survived the 53G impression and 28 seconds within the ensuing fireball. The watch is now in Richard Mille’s possession.
Final 12 months, in accordance with Morgan Stanley, the typical gross sales worth of a Richard Mille watch was 272,000 Swiss francs, greater than 5 occasions the determine of both Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet. The entry worth for a Richard Mille watch is 95,000 Swiss francs earlier than taxes.
Mille and Guenat declined to substantiate Morgan Stanley’s figures, and didn’t declare the corporate’s earnings, however stated demand for its watches continued to outstrip provide. “We need to make the quantity [of watches we produce] increased as a result of the demand is increased,” stated Mille. “However for now, we’re going to preserve at this stage. There won’t be some improve for some years. [Growth] won’t come from growing costs, however from bringing novelties at a better worth level. We are going to by no means increase costs to extend our margin.”
The tonneau form of Richard Mille’s new Ferrari watch is a model signature, as are the sinewy aesthetics of its skeletonised mechanical motion. “We don’t take heed to developments, we simply take heed to ourselves,” stated Mille.
