A. Lange & SÖhne is coming to America

In October the exclusive watch manufacturer Lange will expand their sales network to the largest market for luxury products.

This October, Lange will expand its North American network with the following strategic dealers: in San Francisco with Shreve & Co, which is celebrating their 150th Anni-versary, in Newport Beach with Traditional Jewelers and in the Southern US in New Orleans with E. Adler & Sons. The expansion continues in the East Coast with Alpha Omega in Boston and in Montreal, Canada with Chateau d'Ivoire. Lange's fine timepieces will be available in the stores by October 1, 2002.

With it's team of marketing experts from GlashÜtte along with founder Walter Lange and CEO Hartmut Knothe they will be traveling to each city to launch their new appointed dealers. A traveling roadshow has been planned, and a Lange truck will be transporting a wealth of history and materials from city to city. A master watchmaker and engraver will be on hand to demonstrate their precision and craftsmanship in assembling and engraving a fine A. Lange & SÖhne timepiece.

The Lange itinerary will take in Montreal (Château d'Ivoire) on 10th October 2002, Boston (Alpha Omega, Cambridge) on 16th October, New York (Cellini Jewelers) on 23rd October, New Orleans (E. Adler & Sons) on 1st November, Newport Beach (Traditional Jewelers) on 13th November and in San Francisco (Shreve & Co.) on 19th November 2002.

“The time has come to increase our presence in the US,” explains Walter Lange, great-grandson of the legendary founder of the company. Joining the Lange Team is Marcia Mazzocchi, the new President for A. Lange & SÖhne in North America whose expertise in the watch industry is undisputed.

For the traditional German manufacturer of luxury watches from Saxony who, with only very few thousand gold and platinum watches annually, is at home in the top tier of the market for luxury timepieces, the “Discovery of America” is a challenging undertaking. The company is not about to abandon its exclusive and highly selective positioning strategy, though, but rather fulfilling a historic obligation, as watches from the workshop of A. Lange & SÖhne were already prized possessions in the 19th and first half of the 20th century in both the US and South America.

In support of this market expansion, Lange is continuing to recruit and train watchmakers, who are chronically in short supply. Presently the company has 28 trainees and by the end of the year hopes to have increased its personnel from 284 to 300 employees.

In addition to its three existing buildings, including the original and recently renovated main building, the company is constructing a state-of-the-art plant, designed to fit beautifully into the surroundings and architecture of the historic site. The new building will house a creative design and innovation center. It is here that new, even more complicated additions to Lange's range of 14 lines - each containing an own exclusive Lange movement - will be developed. The emphasis here will be on qualitative rather than merely quantitative growth. Beating the industry trend, Lange - as part of the Richemont concern (with 90% of the shares held by Richemont and 10% by Walter Lange) - is again projecting a double-digit sales increase this year.

Programme of events

Château d'Ivoire, MontrÉal
press conference 9th October 2002
event10th October 2002
exhibit11th - 17th October 2002

Alpha Omega, Cambridge
press conference16th October 2002
event16th October 2002
exhibit17th - 24th October 2002

Cellini Jewelers, New York
press conference23rd October 2002
event23rd October 2002
exhibit24th October - 3rd November 2002

E. Adler & Sons, New Orleans
press conference1st November 2002
event1st November 2002
exhibit2nd - 14th November 2002

Traditional Jewelers, Newport Beach
press conference13th November 2002
event13th November 2002
exhibit14th - 20th November 2002

Shreve & Co., San Francisco
press conference19th November 2002
event19th November 2002
exhibit20th - 24th November 2002

Contact: [email protected]
(refer to europastar.com)

Source: Lange press release
September 2002