Elite Traveler Spring 2020

elite traveler SPRING 2020 73

When he speaks about Mandelbaum’s collection and his passion for watch design, Kern lights up. He spends a lot of time in the design studio, talking with the designers, looking at the collections and making suggestions. He says, “I’m not a designer, but I have quite a clear idea on what I want and I have a very, very talented design team.” At the end of the day, you can have a great story, a rich history, cool boutiques and excellent in-house movements, but if the design isn’t right, no one will want to buy it. Based on his wild success at IWC, Kern knows what people want. His Breitling is a place where superstars Brad Pitt and Charlize Theron, world- champion surfers Kelly Slater and Stephanie Gilmore, and a teenage drone pilot each pull in a diverse crowd of fans, introducing them to the Breitling lifestyle. Will this bold and expensive strategy work? Kern has upended the traditional watch-sales method by abandoning annual trade shows and creating biannual Breitling Summits where he introduces new collections that are immediately available to purchase. “We want to be top of mind with the consumer,” Kern says. “And today everything is going so quickly. You cannot tell anybody anymore, ‘Oh by the way, it’s coming out in eight months.’ No, they move on and they go for another brand.” In between the Summits, Breitling will have individual product launches. Rather than worry about consumer fatigue, Kern says this approach will continually emphasize the message of what the new Breitling is. He is sure that, “with time, people will get it.” By the end of the year, Kern says most of the collection will be new. When asked how he is able to inspire his team, both new and old Breitling employees, with such a revolutionary strategy, he says, “you can only stop criticism by success.” In a short period of time, the new collections have sold very well; Kern says the sellout is phenomenal. This success has convinced everyone that they are on the right path, and it is all systems go at Kern’s Breitling.

Georges Kern

breitling.com