Joe V: Mr. Biver, I have a very simple question: You have taken a brand, Hublot, that was basically in non-existence compared to the major brands of the time and have made it a major success. How did you do that, what is the magic of Jean-Claude Biver?

Jean-Claude: Like many successes in the world it’s not only one element, it’s a series of factors, and each factor is important and it’s only the compilation and co-ordination of these factors that brings us to where we are.

These factors are the following: (Not in the order of importance because they are all equally important)

Factor 1: The brand is not selling watches; we are not producing watches to be looked at to tell time, we are a brand that has a message. The message is when you wear my watch; it shows you are connected to the future. It shows also that you care about tradition that is our message. We call this message “Fusion.” Hublot is the fusion in watch making art. We are not the fusion in food, we are not the fusion in architecture, and we are the fusion in watch making art. Whoever wears my watch shows that he understands both the tradition and the future.

So there is the message, it’s very clear and very, very important: We don’t sell watches, we sell a communicating tool, that tells you who you are, that tells you what you think, what your behavior is, what your world is. So that’s factor #1.

Factor #2: The product itself, what we call the watch is from the point of view of the aesthetic, it’s very in-line with the world of young, dynamic, successful entrepreneurs.

It’s in-line with their way of living not only from the point of view of the strong powerful aesthetic, like a Porsche can be or a Ferrari, but also from the variety of material I use in the watches. In other words, when you wear my watch on the wrist it connects you to your Porsche, your plane, your boat and you feel that the watch belongs to your world.

That is the watch from the aesthetic point of view, (the strength, the power, the recognition, the uniqueness) and the use of all these materials which make the watch attractive to young successful people.

Factor #3: We have installed a very connected, eventually exclusive distribution network which is highly qualified and very restricted. This creates a scarcity of these Hublot Big Bang watches [and they] are therefore very difficult to find. You can find them in only twenty-four stores in the States, two-hundred something stores in the world, so we are very difficult to find. And when you find a store that sells Big Bang, eventually the store will tell you, ‘Sorry Sir, we have a waiting list. We don’t have the watch. You have to wait another three months.’ So, this exclusivity and this very confidential distribution makes the brand attractive, because people today, desire nothing more [than] what they cannot get. The fact that they cannot get it makes it attractive. So the distribution network, where we keep the market ultra short, ultra selective is an important factor of success.

Factor #4: The fact that I have succeeded previously in two other brands, BlancPain and Omega, has given me a very successful reputation in the trade, therefore I am a very good spokesperson for Hublot. The fact that I run the show, travel, speak with the press, brings an incredible strength and credibility to Hublot, it brings a meaningful asset to the brand. Because Biver runs it, people think it will be successful because the guy has already succeeded two times. That instills the confidence in the brand.

Factor #5: We have been working on the media of the internet. On [the] internet we have been very active in this position: Above all the other brands that thought, and still think, that internet is for mass products. We said ‘NO’, internet is for young entrepreneurs and collectors who buy expensive goods, they research on the internet. They connect on the internet, so we have to be active there. We have to be present on the forums, reply on the forums, we need [to] participate, we need moderators, and we need a very dynamic, active internet website. So our heavy presence on the internet was something very remarkable.

Factor #6: Our advertisement of Hublot is key — very key, very easy to understand, very strong because it’s black with a watch — boom! Finished, very easy to recognize. It’s very easy to promote. People immediately remember. So this advertisement where the layout is very easy, basic but very strong, and we are very concentrated in only three, four or five media in the country and heavily concentrated on business, economy and finance papers where we repeatedly, constantly advertise in a heavy concentration.

Factor #7: My role as a PR spokesperson has brought to the brand huge mileage in PR and the brand has really worked PR, with not only myself but also with Venanzio
(Promotion Factory) and his team and every team in every country in the world. We have worked heavily on PR. And PR has brought to the brand an accelerator of productivity and awareness.

Those are the seven factors which gave me the achievement of success. Each one has the same importance. Each one must be mastered totally, and only when you master all the seven you might end up a success.

Joe V: I really appreciate the time you spent with me. Thank you.

Jean-Claude: Thank you, Joe, and continued success with your magazine.

“FusionMan” has taken off!
The aerodrome at Bex, in the Canton of Vaud, was today the scene of a rather st range event: Fusion Man, a.k.a. Yves Rossy, flew off for the first time. He has become the first man to fly “like a bird”, propelled by jet
engines while steering using the movements of his body.
Perched at over 2000 metres up, the privileged spectators
witnessed an event like nothing ever seen before. Flying at a speed of over 300 km/h,

Fusion Man delighted them with several spectacular swoops, even daring a loop-the-loop which crowned several years of determined effort.

Yves Rossy, an experienced airline and fighter pilot, is passionate about flying. He knows the skies well, having travelled across them for a long time when piloting his airplanes. His dream of flying without a cabin around him was meticulously conceived, developed and constructed during his leisure time, up to the point where it became practically feasible. Ingenious, investigative and daring, he knew how to leverage his experience and aeronautics technology to make it happen.

“When I decided to hire Yves Rossy and stand in for his employer – Swiss – for one year,
my Human Resources Director exclaimed: ‘What? You want to hire an airline pilot? But we don’t even have a plane!’ explained Jean-Claude Biver. “What I saw today is quite simply extraordinary. This man’s tenacity in spite of the problems encountered along the way has today been rewarded a hundred-fold, and I’m proud to be part of this adventure”.

As for Yves Rossy, he has never been so ecstatic: “I couldn’t have been better prepared:
the conditions were perfect, and I had to succeed”. He had won the bet.
For the moment, FusionMan will focus on performing long distance flights, but will be back
this Autumn to amaze us with another fantastic project.  www.fusionman.ch

Powerful, sturdy and elegant, this chronograph embodies the quintessence of this Hublot concept. The association between gold and rubber is enhanced by an original association of high-tech materials; the oversized case houses a beautiful movement, enhanced with black PVD elements. These qualities are enhanced by the comfort of a new adjustable strap.
Movement Automatic, Jaquet Calibre 8144, 252 parts Circular-grained plate polished bevelled satin-brushed bridges, tungsten oscillating weight (surface featuring cavities with black PVD treatment). 42-hour power-reserve Functions Hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph Case 750 (18K) red or white gold, 44.5 mm Ceramic bezel, lateral Kevlar inserts
Crown and push-pieces with rubber inserts
Double-face antiglare treatment sapphire crystal
Sapphire back
Water-resistant to 100 m
Dial Stamped carbon fibre
Applied hour markers, luminescent hands
Bracelet/Strap Black rubber, gold folding clasp