Franck Muller Watchland acquires Mahara Montres Geneva (MHR)

Geneva-based watchmaker Franck Watchland makes a strategic move towards obtaining a foothold on the intermediate global wristwatch market by purchasing fellow Geneva competitor Mahara (MHR) for an undisclosed amount.
The deal announced by company boss Franck Muller will allow his group to “offer a complementary and original product line already positioned to be more affordable than those watches bearing the name Franck Muller.” The successful transaction follows company predefined plans to develop according to two axes: improving production efficiency and acquiring one or several brands already working with a complementary sector of the market.
Franck Muller intends to improve performance at MHR, whose sales increased by 35 per cent in 1999 and seem posed to achieve the same rate of increase in 2000. “Even if we foresee a steady annual production of some 5,000 watches in the next two years, our aim is to eventually reach the 30,000 watch yearly mark.” To do this, the Geneva watchmaker intends to further project the distribution of MHR “which will not be disrupted but revitalized.”
MHR made its mark since its inception in 1987 by offering a full collection of watches built around one product. By offering different easily characterized versions of the same product -bearing cosmopolitan names like “Sparviero”, “Britannia” and “Red Devil”- the company quickly found favor among a faithful following in Japan, Italy and the United Sates.