news


Ebel's duo goes on the attack

Español
April 2009


Ebel

1911 TEKTON Automatic Chronograph Ajax Amsterdam, Ebel Calibre 245 COSC-certified chronograph movement, dedicated to football, with indication of the 45 minutes and injury time. Stainless steel case, black techno-fibre strap


The duo recently placed at the helm of Ebel, thus replacing Thomas van der Kallen, reminds us of two centre-forwards determined to score in a turbulent game. Loek Oprinsen, up to now responsible for the principal markets in Northern Europe, and Marc Michel-Amadry, up to now vice-president of marketing, have become co-CEOs of the brand. Oprinsen will be in charge of operations and sales, while Michel-Amadry will oversee design and marketing.
“It is an original way to share the pressure,” says Marc Michel-Amadry. “As a team, we have a better chance to succeed, especially in the current economic climate.” And for Ebel, the current situation is quite difficult since its parent company, Movado, is very dependent on the troubled American market. The group has been reorganized and filed a redundancy plan in Switzerland. Of the 25 layoffs announced for the group in Switzerland, six are at Ebel. (Besides Ebel, the group includes the Movado and Concord brands as well as a series of licences). According to Amadry, Ebel is, however, “keeping all its watchmakers.” The worst has thus been avoided (in mid-December, there was talk of a total of 60 jobs being eliminated in Switzerland), and now the two-man team can get to work. Their strategy is to return to the roots of the Architects of Time, as it was elaborated by van der Kallen.

Seventeen new models
Seventeen new models have been announced for BaselWorld, a lower number than before, as Amadry explains. “We do not want to overfill the stockrooms of our retailers but rather we want to offer them something of substance. One of our goals for BaselWorld is to understand just how much our retailers around the world can actually absorb.”
One of their aggressive tactics centres on the price. Entry-level models in the Ebel Classic line in steel with a mechanical movement, for example, will start at 3,900 CHF. Another strategy deals with competiveness. A new Chrono Exagon equipped with superb push-pieces integrated into its single-block case and a Dubois Dépraz movement-displays the chronographic hours on a floating disc and is priced at less than 5,000 CHF.
Ebel is concentrating essentially on men's watches, which now account for 35 percent of sales. At this year's fair, the brand will present its most interesting new models, such as a very classic and very lovely retrograde date Hexagon in a rose gold case.
The obviously much more sporty Tekton collection will see the addition of a powerful Tekton Chrono driven by an Ebel 137 movement in a special series dedicated to the most prestigious soccer clubs in Europe-Ajax, Olympique Lyonnais, and Real Madrid, with a really spectacular edition of a Tekton whose bezel has been eliminated and replaced directly by a sapphire crystal held in place against the case by cross screws. Water-resistance is assured by a seal hidden by a circular metallic strip on the glass. Very architectural in nature, this watch reminds one immediately of a soccer stadium. It is now up to the new team to rapidly score their goals.


Source: Europa Star April-May 2009 Magazine Issue