The Swiss luxury watch brand HYT is aiming for a way out of insolvency with the launch of new models. The watch will cost $75,000. Instead of a clock hand, the model features a colored liquid that tells the time.
The small, independent watch brand has gained cult status among watch lovers since its market launch in 2012. The company owes its fame to the futuristic design of the dial, which is enclosed by a tube through which a liquid circulates.
HYT is a victim of the effects of the pandemic that has hit the Swiss watch industry since 2020. In March, HYT had to close due to bankruptcy and laid off its 17 employees.
With the demand for luxury goods increasing again and the return of large customers, HYT is now being revived. “It’s the right time,” said new CEO and creative director Davide Cerrato, who was previously artistic director at Rolex brand Tudor. “Wealthy people who invest in the stock market have made a tremendous amount of money over the last two years – and have a strong urge to spend it,” he told AFP.Swiss watch exports also hit a record high in 2021, surpassing not only pre-pandemic levels but also the previous peak set in 2014.
Incredible possibilities
In June, a new company was formed in the Swiss town of Neuchatel, which Cerrato joined in July. He first became aware of the HYT brand in 2012 at the Basel Watch Fair and was impressed by the technology, which was originally developed for the medical sector.
“I was intrigued from the start by this incredible possibility of merging fluid technology and beautiful mechanical watchmaking,” he recalls. The original brand had also attracted the interest of investors, including former Nestle boss Peter Brabeck-Letmathe. The first watches cost at least 50,000 Swiss francs (about 48,000 euros), but the company raised funds to develop the models at lower prices as well.But when the pandemic hit, the company suffered a 40 percent sales slump in 2020, although it is growing of 25 percent.Unable to raise the five to 10 million francs it needed to stay afloat, it declared bankruptcy, the former boss told the Swiss newspaper Le Temps.
rarity value
In order to relaunch the brand, Cerrato wants to further upgrade it and increase the complexity of the watches. This is to appeal to wealthy collectors looking for watches that are only seen on a few wrists. “Watch collectors and connoisseurs are looking for creativity, novelties and rarities,” he says. The brand is initially launching the Hastroid model for 70,000 francs before taxes – according to Cerrato the “entry price”, followed by two more expensive watches that are technically still are more complex.
“The repositioning is based on the fact that this is a unique property,” says Cerrato. “That’s what defines independent brands and what makes them successful.” But will the gamble pay off?
According to Jon Cox, an analyst at financial services firm Kepler Cheuvreux, the market for premium watches is booming. “Provided the product is right and there’s value for consumers – namely, the price of the watch doesn’t drop dramatically on the secondary market – the high-end brands will do well,” he said. (AFP)