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Luigi Macaluso nominated once again for the AIHH presidency

June 2001




LUXURY GOODS:
LUIGI MACALUSO NOMINATED ONCE AGAIN FOR THE AIHH PRESIDENCY

The President and General Director of GIRARD-PERREGAUX is in charge, for a new mandate of three years, of the Presidency of the Association Interprofessionnelle de la Haute Horlogerie which unites 11 of the most prestigious international watch Brands and 200 of the most selective watch and jewellery retailers in the world. At the end of the first five months in 2001, the watch sector sees a growth of its exports of up to 7.6%

Luigi Macaluso, President of Girard-Perregaux and the Sowind Group, has been nominated once more for the Presidency of the AIHH (Association Interprofessionnelle de la Haute Horlogerie) which unites prestigious Brands and a selection of the best watch and jewellery retailers. This “exclusive Club” alone creates almost 40% of the global turnover of watches from the high-end and prestigious segments.

The renewal of the mandate was confirmed during the General Assembly of the Association which took place in Reims, during which four new historical Brands of the Swiss watchmaking industry were officially welcomed: Corum, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Zenith. Joining Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Ebel, Girard-Perregaux, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin, these new entrants elevate the number of AIHH Brand members to eleven.

According to Luigi Macaluso, this enlargement “increases the value of the role of the Association, a unique organisation in its field, founded to promote worldwide, the quality of the product and services that have always been associated with haute horlogerie”.

The latter is a sector of the watchmaking industry, which has asserted itself in the luxury goods market by an interesting global growth. In 2000, the ensemble of watchmaking exports represented SFr9'327bn. One can estimate that this export value generates a turnover of more than SFr25bn (sales to the end consumer).

With regards to the watchmaking exports situation in the first five months of 2001, the end of May sees a growth of 7.6% in terms of value (from SFr3'868bn in 2000 to SFr 4'164bn in 2001) and a decrease of 8'9% in the number of watches sold (from
11 836 000 pieces in 2000 to 10 780 000 pieces in 2001). According to Luigi Macaluso, “this information is very important in this period where it is necessary to reflect upon the current situation of the luxury market worldwide. The good results achieved are also the fruit of the collaboration, ever more tightly woven, between the producers and the distribution.”

Members of the AIHH Board of Directors
From left to right :

L. W. TAY, F. MANFREDINI, G. BROCHARD, CH. HÜBNER, J.-PH. AURIOL, T. KAMINE, C.-D. PROELLOCHS, R. FROJO, B. SUAREZ, G.-H. MEYLAN, L. MACALUSO, S. RUMO, M. MAUER, G. AMBROSINI, G. DJAOUI, R. BEYER, A. MACHADO, P. LEOPOLD-METZGER, H. KIMELBLAT, E. MAIER

PRESS SERVICE AIHH
JUNE 2001