I'm good, thank you. George, you started something in London.
We did that. We started many things, including a tradition of me asking you tough questions. Do you remember that boutique video we did?
Yes, absolutely. I asked you to choose one. Watch. Now the community have said, 'Can I ask George a question?'
You can't ask that. George Kern Brightling version. Come inside and join us.
George, before we get stuck into the tough questions, let's start with an easy one. Where are we?
We're at Dubai Watch Week in our house of brands with three brands – Brightling, obviously, which is the official floor – and we have a secret floor upstairs with Universal Geneve and Gal. We should do another video about those.
But that's not what today's about. Today's about you, because you have answered the call. What questions do you think George Kern would not be brave enough to answer? And guess what? Every single one of them has been approved, so you're already wrong. All right, number one: Brightling was historically known as the pilot's watch brand par excellence. You've repositioned Brightling as a sports-chic, neo-luxury generalist brand. At what point did you say internally, 'We're just leaving behind the cockpit?'
We don't leave behind the cockpit. We have three pilot watches: the classic Avi, which I launched, the historic 40s watch of aviation; the 1950s, 1960s Navitimer for civil aviation; and the tougher Avenger. So three lines. We're by far number one in pilot watches. But Brightling was always more than just aviation. When I discovered all these products with Fred Mandelbaum, I found the Premier, the Top Time, the original SuperOcean. I said we are not only an aviation watch. Today we are more faithful to the brand than ever.
I love the 'You Can't Ask This' series because you get a sense of the authenticity behind brand direction. We're only getting little slivers, but every time I speak to George Kern, I wish you could hear this conversation – it just makes sense in context. Second question: Some purists say reducing Brightling to a lifestyle brand risks diluting the tool-watch DNA. Do you view that criticism as valid or simply noise from the small cottage industry watch world?
Whatever you do, you will be criticized. If you're a tool watch, people say you're too niche; if you broaden your image, people say you broaden too much. The only argument you cannot fight is success. If you're successful and winning, where's the problem? You gain more customers. Like when Porsche launched the Panamera and Cayenne – my God! But the 911 is no longer the number one car because the world changes, customers change, tastes change. We respond to need. Whatever you do, you'll be criticized, but you need to make a choice. We made that choice.
And if I can say something to that question and that commenter – you perceive Brightling as a tool watch brand, but what George and Fred Mandelbaum revealed is that it isn't a tool watch brand. The Premier came as an optimistic change after war watches, but that story hadn't been told commercially.
You say you want to get Brightling into the top five watch brands globally. Name the four ahead of you and tell me what gap you see to leapfrog at least one of them.
You know them. There are reports – the Morgan Stanley report you can download everywhere. We need consistency, coherence, iconization of the Navitimer, the Economat, and the SuperOcean Heritage, which represent 75% of our turnover. This will happen. What's striking is that only 20% of our target group knows the new Brightling. 80% still think of the old Brightling: bulky, shiny watches, pilots only, little alpha male. I'm so happy we have 300 boutiques to welcome customers. My aim is to bring people into the boutiques to experience the brand, the team, and our style.
You dramatically rationalized SKUs and reduced complexity, which is what you do – find pillars and a simpler, stronger story. But people say, 'You killed my baby, you left these watches off the table.' What's your answer to collectors who say this crude simplifying leaves watches out of the story?
Life is a succession of choices. We're now really iconizing the brand with those three lines. There will be one smaller collection of historical pieces around the Top Time, Premier, and Classic Avi. Those five pockets will be what we work on. Still, we have a wide collection with different choices. I'm sure everybody will find at least one reference they like.
You've emphasized in-house manufacturing and higher price points. At what point does Brightling risk becoming inaccessible to the young, more casual luxury buyer you're targeting?
I believe in reasonable pricing, not increases for the sake of it. Over the last few years, we became 100% in-house movements with the B01 in all series and the B31 launched this year. That adds value. Average price went from $4,300 to $7,200 over seven years. That's why we're launching Gal next year – it's positioned between $2,500 and $5,000, below Brightling, to cover that segment. You can't stretch a brand indefinitely. There will also be Universal Geneve for a different segment. Gal is a sister brand of Brightling, distributed in Brightling boutiques, with Sellita movements. That's the answer.
One of your team said to me when I walked in, 'Andrew, great to see you. You've dressed for gala.'
The overarching story of Gal is wonderlust – exploration, safari, outdoor.
Okay. I said it with a German accent, but you did it with an English accent.
And this is the storytelling of Gal. You're perfect. I need to get you a Gal cap.
