HAUTE HORLOGERIE:
LUIGI MACALUSO ELECTED TO THIRD TERM AS AIHH PRESIDENT
Dr. Luigi Macaluso, President AIHH
For the next three years, the Italian entrepreneur, President and CEO of GIRARD-PERREGAUX will head the Association Interprofessionnelle de la Haute Horlogerie (AIHH), an umbrella organization comprising 11 of Switzerland's most prestigious watch brands, their distributors and over 280 of the world's leading watch and jewellery retailers.
General Assembly
Geneva/Budapest Luigi Macaluso, President of GIRARD-PERREGAUX and the SOWIND Group, was re-elected as President of the Association Interprofessionnelle de la Haute Horlogerie (AIHH), which comprises 11 of Switzerland's most prestigious watch brands, their distributors and over 280 of the world's leading watch and jewellery retailers. The election was held during the AIHH General Meeting in Budapest on June 19-20.
The AIHH, headquartered in Geneva, counts 11 of Switzerland's most prestigious watch brands among its members: Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Corum, Ebel, Girard-Perregaux, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, and Zenith.
Luigi Macaluso will be assisted by Jean-Claude Roustant (formerly of Louis Vuitton and Ebel), who is to take over as Secretary General of the association following the retirement of Eugen Maier.
The Executive Committee will comprise, along with the President and Secretary General, Gerard Djaoui (Cartier), Jérôme Lambert (Jaeger-LeCoultre), Georges-Henri Meylan (Audemars Piguet), Patrick Frischknecht (Les Ambassadeurs - Switzerland), Christian Hübner (Uhrmachermeister Hübner - Austria), and Antonio Machado (Machado Joalheiro - Portugal).
Dr. Franco Cologni, Richemont Group
Dr. Luigi Macaluso
While the Haute Horlogerie market represents only 8% of watch exports in quantity terms, it represents an extraordinary 72% in value terms, illustrating the importance of this segment to the watch industry.
Haute Horlogerie, which comprises the luxury range (CHF 4,000 -12,000, retail price) and the prestige range (over CHF 12,000 retail price), saw its turnover grow from CHF 3.7 thousand million in 1993 to CHF 6.5 thousand million in 2003. These figures underscore the constant growth enjoyed by the Haute Horlogerie segment from 1993 to 2003: 89% for the luxury range and 67% for the prestige range. During the first quarter of 2004, the luxury and prestige segment grew by 8.4%.
In his speech, Luigi Macaluso confirmed his determination to continue developing the association, in particular through the delegations in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
"After 5 years as president, I remain full of ambition for our association. We are emerging from a period of tight market conditions during which the Association has asserted itself as a benchmark in the Haute Horlogerie segment. And this is why we must concentrate on the creation of a Study Centre to compile and provide vital information for the benefit of the watch industry in general and the luxury and prestige segment in particular."
What is the AIHH?
Founded in Geneva in 1992, the Association Interprofessionnelle de la Haute Horlogerie is an association that is unique in the industrial world, uniting eleven of the Swiss watch industry's most prestigious brands and close to two hundred of the world's leading watch and jewellery stores, it has over three hundred active members in more than twenty-five countries throughout Asia, Europe and Latin America.
With its strong interprofessional character, the AIHH has set itself the primary goal of promoting the watch culture around the world.
The retailers, who are members of this net of excellence, can be regarded as veritable ambassadors of fine luxury watchmaking. Driven by the same passion for their profession, they have raised the standard of service to a particularly high level.
To learn about the AIHH, the members and aims of the organization, or general informations about the history, culture, production and service of Haute Horlogerie watches, we recommend to visit www.AIHH.com.
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