To find out more about Bucherer, I spent a day touring the company's operation in Lucerne, Switzerland, and I came away very impressed with the way Bucherer does business.

A little history lesson
Bucherer was founded by Carl F. Bucherer back in 1888, in Lucerne, where the family was based. The company started selling writing instruments and watches and then jewellery came into the mix. Bucherer started making its own watches, Bucherer, back in 1919, and that continued uninterrupted until just recently, when the line was curtailed to avoid any confusion with the higher end Carl F. Bucherer brand. Three years ago, Bucherer introduced the B Swiss line of watches, entry level timepieces designed to get people into the store and started in their love of watches.
Bucherer's greatest growth was after the 1960s, when the company began expanding. With a total of 41 stores, Bucherer has now grown into a major force in the world of watch retailing in Switzerland and Germany. I sat down with Adelbert BÞtler, the CEO of the Bucherer Group, to get answers about how Bucherer has become so successful.





ES: Please breakdown the Bucherer stores for Europa Star's readers.
AB: We have a total of 41 stores: made up of nine in Germany, two in Austria, and 30 in Switzerland - Bucherer (top end), Kurz (mid range), two Omega boutiques (which we run), and Swiss Lion (tourist areas, entry level). We made the differentiation with the stores 20 years ago. There was a market for the mid to high range, so we bought Kurz, a family owned company. Bucherer with Rolex, IWC and all, is very high-end.
It depends on the clientele, the position, the city, as to what stores get what watch brands."

ES: Do you have the same brands in all the stores?
AB: In Bucherer, we have the same brands in all the stores. For me it's logical, how can I do advertising for a brand if I don't have that brand in all the stores? Even in the small stores, like in Davos, we have the same brands.
The business of Bucherer is different from other retailers. We sell the same products, but we believe that the watch and jewellery business is a long-term business. You can't just take in a brand for a few months and kick them out if the turnover is not good. We only have 12 brands, but we really work together with them. We have the widest and deepest selections of these brands as possible. We are a privately owned company, so we can have a long-term strategy.

ES: You recently bought some stores in Germany. What is Bucherer planning?
AB: Our strategy is clear. We want to build our business in the German speaking part of Europe. We still have a lot to do in Germany. It's easier for us to all speak the language; we have the same philosophy, the same way of thinking.

ES: How's business?
AB: Business is good. We are happy. There are signs on the horizon for a slowdown, but business is very good. We are really looking forward to the coming year. Watches are better than jewellery, and in watches, every segment is doing well.





ES: How has business changed in recent years?
AB: The biggest change was that you have to be more professional than ten years ago. Then, we sold gift items in our stores, like photo frames. Today, if you are a watch and jewellery retailer, you are a watch and a jewellery retailer and you do it the best way you can.
The second change is the flagship stores, the verticalization of the brands. In Lucerne and Interlaken, two typical tourist cities, there was a need for an Omega store. Swiss Lion - our specialized chain for tourism business - runs these stores. This makes sense. But we don't have a policy of running flagship stores. We are a full range retailer, that's what we know how to do. A full range retailer has a different philosophy; we have our own watchmakers, for example. We are a generalist, not a specialist. It's a different business.
The flagship stores are competition. As long as they treat us the same as they did before, it is acceptable. If they have products in the flagship store that can't be found in regular stores, that's a problem."

ES: What is the secret of your success?
AB: The quality and how we do the job. We train our employees very well. We are not interested in short-term money. Because we are privately owned, what counts isn't what we make today, it's important that the company exists tomorrow.

ES: How do you handle employee training?
AB:We do training ourselves and our people also receive training by the brands. The training is on going and we concentrate on our customers. Everyone started talking about the Chinese coming here. The Chinese are a new customer, a new philosophy. We started eight years ago training our employees, and we have trained several hundred of them, via a Chinese lady who went to all our stores to talk about Chinese customers. We wanted our employees to understand how they are different from other customers. We did the same for Americans - why they like sales and special offers. It's not just about the watches, that's only one part, you have to understand the customer. I am convinced that you will find no one else in the world who tries so hard training his or her employees. We speak 23 languages in our stores and Chinese is one where we have really paid attention.

ES: What do you look for in your employees?
AB: First, you have to be good with people. The product you can learn, but how to treat the customer in front of you, that you can't learn. It's not hard to find good people, but you have to treat them and pay them correctly. We are a family owned company and our ambience is family. We aren't just talking about profits and turnover, there are many other values.

ES: What is your relationship like with other retailers?
AB: We have a great relationship with other retailers. The two big family owned companies are here in Lucerne, Bucherer and GÜbelin. It's competitive, of course, but still friendly. Switzerland is too small, so we talk together; we try to find solutions together. Competition is a good thing - it forces you to look forward, to move instantly, and to be better than all the others.

ES: What is the biggest challenge facing your store right now?
AB: The biggest challenge is to prepare the future. Last year was a great year, 2008 is better than anyone thought it would be. It is probably more difficult to run a company in good times than in bad. In good times, everybody wants to expand, wants to 'fulfil his dreams', everyone has ideas about what to do. In bad times everyone knows that he has to be careful and decisions are taken much more meticulously and much more based on facts than on wishes. 'What goes up must come down', so we have to be careful, that when the wheel turns the other way, we are prepared."

ES: What is the biggest challenge facing the watch industry right now?
AB: On a short-term basis, there are not enough parts to make the production. The Swiss watch industry has to keep up the quality - we don't have enough watchmakers - to stay in the position of the leader in the market. I am really very confident; the brands do a fantastic job.
We have our own watchmaker apprenticeship program. Our watchmakers in training go to school in Bienne, and we have an apprenticeship here. We invest a lot of money, but that is the future of our company and our industry. All those mechanical watches in five or ten years will all come back for service. Nobody is ready, so we want to be ready. We started a few years ago to teach watchmakers, which is something no one else does.

ES: Is the Internet a threat to brick and mortar retailers?
AB: You can't e-mail a handshake or a smile. We have a different mentality in Europe. In the future, Internet will influence us but we don't think it will influence us like in the States. We are talking about a product that needs an after sales service. It's not easy, people in Europe are willing to spend a little bit more to have after sales service guaranteed.

ES: How do you market your store?
AB: Location is vital to our marketing. We have 14 Bucherer stores in Switzerland and every one is in a triple ‘A’ location. We do everything — newspapers, magazines, television, billboards, we use everything. We just started doing television against last year.

ES: Who is your customer?
AB: The customer, due to the size of our company in Switzerland, is almost everyone. In some cities, we have market share of close to 40 percent. We are so well known as the leading retailer. We have 12 brands, and 50,000 jewellery references, so everyone can find what they need in our company.

ES: How important is security?
AB: Security is a huge issue. Five or eight years ago, no one talked about it, but it is a huge issue now. We have had robberies in our stores. In some stores, we put the pillars in front as protection. When we are redoing a store, behind the window, we add concrete in. We don't have any inside loss.
"We maybe have three or four stores with a guard. We try to have open doors, but in Munich, Berlin and Geneva we have guards. The danger is greater in those cities.

ES: Are you optimistic about the future?
AB: I look forward to the future. We have a great product; Switzerland is doing a fantastic job. Watches are one of the only things where people can display their taste. I absolutely look forward to the coming year.

ES: Any advice to other retailers?
AB: Retailers have to have the courage to concentrate on what they know. In a Chinese restaurant, you don't get good Italian spaghetti. That's exactly our business, you can't do everything. People who do a good job, who really concentrate on what they know how to do don't have problems. The problem is when retailers want to sell everything.

ES: What does time mean to you?
AB: Time gives me the possibility to do fantastic things, to share it with my family.

ES: Why does Bucherer still go to the watch shows?
AB: Basel is important because we need to see what is going on. We want to see all the novelties on the brands we don't carry. Shows are very important, where you have everything concentrated and you can talk to everyone in three or four days. It's about the contacts with other people.

Many thanks to the Bucherer Group for arranging a great trip to their facilities in Lucerne, Switzerland.


Source: Europa Star August-September 2008 Magazine Issue

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