It is not uncommon for the CEO of a global brand to also be an ambassador, particularly when retailers and collectors are constantly vying for your attention. These people often complain when top executives don’t visit international markets for too long. On this note, it has been far too long since we reconnected with Panerai CEO Jean-Marc Pontroué, so when the local public relations arm of the brand asked if we wanted some of Pontroué’s time, we jumped at the chance. Of course, WOW goes a long way back with both Panerai and Pontroué.
Panerai was the cover of the Summer Issue from 2013 to 2017. This is fitting because the Paneristi – the collecting clique most obsessed with the brand – are particularly strong in Singapore; in 2020 and 2021, amidst the turmoil of COVID-19, we learned that the Panerai boutique in ION Orchard had become the best-performing boutique for the brand in the world (by the brand’s own off-the-record estimation). Given the size of Singapore, this was amazing to learn…no doubt you, dear reader, are one of these hardcore elites since you have made it this far into the story. This fact was probably a big deal in the past few years and gave us the impetus to reach out to the Swiss-Italian Watchmaker.
Not for nothing, the other reason we relished the opportunity to meet Pontroué in Singapore was that the editors of this magazine have known him since his days at Montblanc, which he joined at the turn of the millennium. I remember him presenting the press at the brand’s booth during the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2008 (SIHH). Pontroué was most likely Product Strategy and Development Executive Vice President at that time. Whatever his title was, he played a crucial role in product strategy and the development of products, having made his start building leather goods for Givenchy, a company owned by LVMH. Most of the current generation of editors and writers probably got to know Pontroué much better in his years as CEO of Roger Dubuis, where he developed the idea of HyperHorology, which today defines that brand. He joined Roger Dubuis in 2011 and became CEO within six years.
At Panerai, Pontroué succeeded the legendary Angelo Bonati, a man synonymous with the brand’s contemporary status. He had to fill some big shoes while also taking the brand to uncharted terrain and creating his own legacy. To his credit, Pontroué envisioned a future for Panerai that was distinctly Italian, while expanding its core offering beyond the dive and military heritage of the brand. Panerai is at the forefront in material innovation. They are amongst the first brands to make use of more recycled steel or titanium. In addition, he brought to Panerai the idea that special watches should be tied with special experiences. He pioneered this at Roger Dubuis. We discuss this, and Panerai’s more elegant turn with the Luminor Due with Pontroué in this extended conversation.
We did not get a chance to speak about Watches and Wonders Geneva so let’s begin there.
Watches and Wonders Geneva, you know, is the only chance we have to show the world what we are all about. This is like the couture week in the fashion capitals, except we only have one show. Now that we are 60 brands (showing at Watches and Wonders Geneva this year), the competition is getting harder and harder so we have to do a lot to impress the public, the journalists, the dealers… the entire watch community. This is why for me it is a creative exercise…before it was more a selling exercise but now that we are more and more selling out of our own boutiques and retail partners, the Watches and Wonders Geneva show is about making an impression. It is all about communicating. The major target of (a major international watch fair) is capturing attention, create buzz, generate social media traffic… we are not only here to sell watches. Maybe 10 years ago, watches were the main attraction…windows at exhibitor’s booths full of watches. The show still features watches, but it is now more about storytelling. That’s the reason to come to the fair, especially for the public.
I was impressed with the public turnout over the weekend. We had 3800 people in just two days. Many people just wanted to look at the booth. But we had more than 1,000 who wanted to test out the watches. So they would sit down like we are here, with one of our representatives, to try, to test, to take pictures… So it was a very impressive exposure we have got on the weekend, which was new for us.
What’s the difference between the SIHH public days and now?
Did we have them back then? You’ve got a better memory. It was not very impressive because I don’t keep any memories of it! It was very organized this year; people were queuing to get into our booth, because for security, we only allowed 100 people in at a time. Watches and Wonders Geneva, in terms of brand exposure and traffic exposure for a number of new communities, has been very successful.
For example, I discovered we have a Paneristi community in Liechtenstein (one of the smallest and richest countries in the world – Ed). Do you know the location of Liechtenstein? I met the Paneristi community leader from Liechtenstein. I didn’t know that there was a Paneristi community in Liechtenstein! The watch fairs provide a great opportunity to meet people who you may not otherwise encounter. I have always been a huge fan. It makes sense to have one event a year in which Geneva becomes the focal point for the entire watch industry, doesn’t it? It’s good for Switzerland, for Geneva and for our industry.
And yet you will continue to show new watches throughout the year, as you are doing now in Singapore with the Brabus PAM01283…
For us, Watches and Wonders is a platform where we don’t show everything. All year round, we have the opportunity to showcase new products. After Singapore, I will be in New York for the big boutique opening there and we have one edition only for New York, which we don’t show here. The same will be true of Watches and Wonders Shanghai (which will have wrapped by the time you read this – Ed).
How do you interact with the Paneristi and other fan communities, given that they were not created by the brand?
That is a good question. Panerai didn’t create the Paneristi, no. The Paneristi movement began in the US around 2000, three years after the brand was relaunched. The boss of Paneristi around the world, who is based in Chicago, is someone I know well. In all the countries that I visit, I make a point of meeting with the Paneristi. Not always. I say all the time that Paneristi or a similar community is the largest marketing department any watch brand could ever dream of having, right? We have 30,000 members that know Panerai more than anyone at the brand.
They are very loyal to the brand; very supportive, and active in defending the brand, and bringing in new members… Sometimes I meet members who are very young people, not the usual guys who are my age, but the new generation, you know, and this is what I like very much. Because the son of the Panerista (the informally accepted singular for Paneristi – Ed) is also now a Panerista. In Singapore, there were some young guys who attended a Meet-and-Greet event with the brand. Maybe they took watches from their dads to wear on that night.
At one of our Panerai experiences with Mike Horn (adventurer, conservationist, and explorer), we had a 12-year-old kid. So, the father couldn’t come (and thus loaned) his Mike Horn watch (we presume this to be the Submersible Ecopangaea Tourbillon GMT Mike Horn PAM01108, but there are a number of Mike Horn editions – Ed) to his son, who came to have the Experience. The support we receive from the Paneristi comes entirely organically (and Panerai Experiences, for example, are not Paneristi-sponsored events). The Paneristi are just here in the background to support us but if they don’t like what we do, they say it also! You know that they can be very vocal when they don’t like what we do.
What is the best way to explain it? It is cultural… passion is not something you can explain. It’s just like love. It is similar to love. Panerai has many good reasons to love it: its history, Italian identity, the fact of being so spectacular. It gives our brand a unique sense of belonging. Even though we’re among the top 15, there are still brands much bigger than Panerai in the watch industry. Panerai’s fans are among the most loyal in the watch industry.
What do you think?
We never studied (the why) rationally. Maybe it is because we are not a huge brand, although we are not small… Maybe it is because we have a certain proximity with many of our customers, though not all of them. It’s not just a generic warmth, it’s a genuine warmth. And we do events with them…
We do 400 events for our customers per year, and we do them all over the world. I don’t know how many people we see at each one, maybe 100. So that’s 40,000 a year, in a very intimate way…(such as at the Singapore Panerai customer event where) I think I shook hands with more or less everyone who attended, and it was the same in Bangkok (where I was before coming to Singapore).
This love for Panerai also extends to some of your more famous friends…
You know this movie called “Operation Fortune”? Jason Statham is a Panerai fan and he visited our London boutique two years ago. He bought four watches, then told the staff that he needed them for his next film. We did not know that it was Operation Fortune. You can see how well the watches were presented in the movie. We never did anything, we never paid Jason Statham…I was not even able to thank him. We don’t even have his e-mail address because of course he doesn’t give his e-mail address when he’s at our boutiques. Even through his agent, it is very complicated but it tells you something that a guy like that, who represents very much what Panerai stands for – very athletic, very sporty – putting his own watches into his movies. This is what I refer to as the soft power of a brand.
Mr Statham has been collecting Panerai for many years! How about something you’ve never seen before, perhaps?
The phenomena which is new for me is more towards ladies watches and ladies buying our watches…this is new clientele we have. We didn’t have so many products before that were suitable (size wise) but now we have the 38mm assortment, like the Luminor Due for example. There are also small complications, such as the lunar phase. Prada straps are included, as well as some new dial colours in pastel shades. In the New York boutique, for the first time we have an area dedicated to women.
This article first appeared in WOW Autumn Issue #70
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