![]() It’s the brand of old money, for better or worse, choosing to stay above the online fray. Rolex has also ignored the Internet, with nary a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter presence to speak of. But on the design side, people turn to Rolex’s offshoot, Tudor, for the youthful, cool products. ![]() Technically its watches are magnificent, and quality is unsurpassed. The Crown is renowned for its glacial product development pace, inching forward with risk-averse designs. Two areas Rolex could improve are its online presence and its overall dynamism. He’s been given the keys to the kingdom and the helm of a brand with formidable R&D and unmatched manufacturing might, not to mention a rich history of iconic watches and names. In many respects, Dufour is a very lucky man. Given the brand’s notorious conservatism, don’t expect a full-on overhaul with new products and lower prices. Dufour’s new job isn’t so much rebooting a brand as it is holding the steering wheel in the right direction and keeping Rolex relevant amid stiff competition. But unlike Dufour’s former employer, Rolex has stayed the course over the years with nary a misstep. So what will his arrival mean at Rolex? Like Zenith, Rolex has a rich history of product development and iconic names to pull from. Clearly, Dufour knew what it took to get a brand back on its feet he leaves Zenith in a good place. Zenith also scored a PR coup when it secured a place on the wrist of Austrian “space jumper” Felix Baumgartner - which was a direct result of a chance meeting between Dufour and Baumgartner at an auto race the year before the latter’s famous stunt. The storied chronograph maker quickly became one of the industry’s darlings, releasing heritage pieces and complications at surprisingly affordable prices. Dufour wasted no time scrapping everything and going back to the company’s historical strong suit: the high-beat El Primero movement (which ironically it used to supply to Rolex) and its legacy of pilot’s watches. At the time, Zenith was suffering from a confused and bloated product line of cringe-inducing designs. His arrival at Zenith in 2009 was greeted with much anticipation and his impact felt almost immediately. The Swiss is part of a younger generation of watch company CEOs, along with Montblanc’s Jerome Lambert, that has come of age in a dynamic time of social media, brand ambassadors and rapid product line updates. Tudor | Patina: 1972 Rolex Submariner Ref. MORE ROLEX: Icon: Rolex Sea Dweller | Want This, Get This: Rolex vs. This a major development for one of the most conservative companies in a very conservative industry - particularly because of Dufour’s track record. This week, the iconic company made the latest change in its game of musical chairs, putting Jean-Frédéric Dufour, whom many will recognize as the man who turned Zenith around, in the hot seat. Rolex watchers, sometimes compared with Kremlinologists in their meticulous analysis of every rare snippet of news, interpreted the upheaval as dissatisfaction with Rolex’s performance at a time of growing competition - notably from Swatch Group’s resurgent Omega brand and Compagnie Financière Richemont’s IWC.ĭufour’s successor at Zenith has yet to be named.Rolex had just three CEOs in its first century of existence it’s had three more in just the past eight years. Geneva-based Rolex, controlled by a foundation created by its founding family, boasts annual revenues estimated at $5 billion. “I think there is a conflict within the organization between the modernizers, who want to see faster development and more innovation, and more traditionalists, who want to see a more steady-as-she-goes approach and blame overexposure to greater China for current woes,” said Jon Cox, head of Swiss equities at broker Kepler Cheuvreux in Zurich. Meier’s was a shock appointment, promoted to the ceo slot after the sudden departure in 2008 of Patrick Heiniger, son of a legendary former Rolex boss and who was in the top job for 16 years.
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