The Business of Watches [009] Audemars Piguet CEO Ilaria Resta Drives Double-Digit Sales Increase For Brand's 150th Anniversary Year

Welcome to The Business of Watches, where "Horology meets high finance" and each tip tells a story of markets, margins, mishaps, and mechanical mastery. I'm your host, Andy Hoffman, Senior Business Editor at Hodinky. In this series, we dive deep into the global watch industry, a place where centuries-old craftsmanship intersects with billion-dollar valuations, executive brand strategy, and investor speculation. From Swiss valleys to Silicon Valley, we trace the movements shaping this uniquely resilient sector. Just how big is the business of time-keeping? Well, some estimates place the entire watch industry from ultra-luxury mazones to smart watches and micro-brands at north of 100 billion dollars globally. But behind that figure is a complex web of legacy, innovation, and ever-shifting consumer taste and demand. This is the podcast for collectors, analysts, watch buyers, and sellers, and anyone who's fascinated by the intersection of risk, wear, and wealth. Because if time is money, then money is most certainly time. So let's get down to business. It's been a banner year for Odomar Piguet. Not only did the Lubrasu watchmaker celebrate its 150th anniversary, the brand was responsible for some of the most important and newsworthy releases an event in 2025. From its novel and innovative perpetual calendar design, set and operated through its crown, to its highly wearable and user-friendly RD #5, Odomar Piguet has dictated the conversation this year. At the helm is a larry arresta, a veteran business executive but still a relative newcomer to the business of watches. This was a year that arresta put her stamp on the brand, building momentum, and culminating in a tour de force showcase at Dubai Watch Week with what was undoubtedly the most impactful and impressive display from a brand at the show, and possibly a preview of what's to come when AP returns to watches and wonders in 2026. It was at Dubai Watch Week that we caught up with arresta, and she had plenty to say about what the anniversary has meant for the brand, but also what her plans are for the future. Specifically, she outlines AP's performance in a challenging time for watches, what the future production mix will look like, how AP plans to play in the fast-growing secondary market via certified pre-owned, and what we might see from specific model lines, including the Royal Oak Offshore, the evolving Code 1159, and the shaped watches and previously discontinued models in the back catalog. Most importantly, arresta talks about her strategy to bring new kinds of buyers and clients into watches and Odomar Piguet. Here's our conversation with Olaria Resta. Olaria Resta, the CEO of Odomar Piguet. Welcome to the podcast here at Dubai Watch Week. Thank you for joining us. Thank you, Andy. Glad to be here. So how are you finding the show? What is the mood? How has it been for Odomar Piguet? You've got a magnificent booth-stand building. Well, the mood couldn't be more positive because we are here. With so many friends in the watchmaking industry is a great happening that celebrates watchmaking at the best. In a year that has been definitely a complicated year for the industry. For us, it has been the year of celebration of the 150 years anniversary. So a wonderful year where we could pay tribute to our past, but at the same time, as you know, we launched lots of novelties. So as I say, we had two eyes looking backward at our past and two eyes looking forward at the bright future. And I mean, how do you think, I mean, I guess we're getting to be near the end of the 150th anniversary year. How do you think the brand has done in terms of marking that with product, with literature ideas, with celebration for the brand? Do you think you've made the connections and made the points and the ideas about the brand? I think it was an exemplary year in terms of bringing to life all the strategies that we have been launching to bring forward the Odomar Piguet in the future years. The first strategy is watchmaking at the center of everything we do. And definitely in the exhibitions that we have done around the world in different places, we really put forward all the expertise in watchmaking from the entire industry, not only from Odomar Piguet. So I really see these exhibitions as an opportunity to engage younger generations. People who definitely love watchmaking, people who don't know anything about it, but they want to learn. It's a real opening to the broader public. And we have had thousands and thousands of visitors around the world. We are talking on tens of thousands. And Dubai, which week, is definitely the culmination of this year of celebration. The other key pillar of our strategy, of course, is to continue moving forward on watchmaking innovation. And we have been launching at the beginning of the year the new coupé, which was on purpose, again, it's attributed to the perpetual calendar of the late 70s, that in a way saved Odomar Piguet from the course crisis together, of course, with Royal Oak. And going back to that movement, but moving it forward with a setting that is so user-friendly and ergonomic for clients is in a way an opportunity for us to bring forward a usable perpetual calendar for every day. Perpetual calendar, you don't put in the safe, but you can use and set yourself. It's interesting. Yeah, I mean, I'm getting a sense of a theme in terms of some of the major releases we've seen from you this year about client experience, usability, wearability, not just about the intricate and extraordinary complications and movements. I mean, you know, is that something that you think that you're sort of focusing on partially in your roles, yeah. Indeed it is, because we're talking two things that are very close to my heart. On one side is usable watches. Watches that are part of the everyday life of people, and we celebrate the relationship of the user with the watch. And we make it so ergonomic, not only from a comfort standpoint, but in any aspect of the design of the watch. For instance, if you look at the date of the perpetual calendar, even the way the little intonation of the wheel have been thought to be ergonomic in the reading. But everything related to using the watch is part of a broader philosophy of opening watchmaking to many more people. That's why we do exhibitions because exhibitions open the doors to people who are just interested in learning more. That's why we publish the book. A book that is not Audumar Piguet book is the watch. The title of the book is inviting people to just learn more about complications, but also about how a watch is made. And in that book, you see the collaboration of suppliers and all the people that have been working broadly in this industry, including our We don't call competitors, but the other fellow partners in this journey of watchmaking. So all this is the philosophy of is a wonderful product, is a wonderful industry, let's celebrate it and open the doors. Indeed. And so it certainly has been a year of celebration, a year of some very high profile releases for you. So what is that going to look like in terms of, you know, the top and bottom line for the company? I mean, it's well established in the past that Audumar Piguet made around 50,000 watches a year, sales of around two billion Swiss francs. What's the trajectory of the pattern for those metrics? This year specifically has been an incredibly successful year, where we had double digit growth, which has been specifically remarkable in the current context, where we know that the Swiss exports have going down. And this is a testament of when you have the right proposition for clients, like again, these exhibitions, this approach of opening, but also the right launches things can and will continue to go well. I believe in the next years in a growth that is sustainable and organic. I'm not looking for an extreme acceleration of growth because I don't think it's the right thing to do for the brand, for our philosophy of production and manufacturing, also because one of the most important metric of success for me will be the percentage of complications that we produce. And this is something that we look very carefully at. And if we need to make a choice, we'd rather invest on long term innovation and developmental more complications. So does that mean we're going to see, you know, production that probably looks somewhat similar to what we've seen this year. And that's the plan going forward, but more complications. A different mix of products. Indeed, you will see more complications. We have a good portfolio of complications, but as you know, there are some missing in our portfolio and as watchmakers enthusiasts and fanatics, as we are, we like to experiment in new territories of complications, in new display of time, in new interpretations of time. And this is the avenue moving forward. So we need to create space for this type of manufacturing focus. Within the model range, I mean, you well know that sometimes Automar Piguet is criticized for being too focused on the Royal Oak. And also the offshore, obviously the Codal M59 exists and has been continued to evolve with new models and new designs. At this point, do you see those model lines being sufficient to achieve those goals, more complications, different iterations, or does Automar Piguet need to come up with new model lines? Well, we have two focus areas for the future. The first one, as I told you, is complication, but also what we want to do with those is differentiate the complications by product line. The idea is if we do a chronograph on the code, it will look like differently from a chronograph on the Royal Oak. Because each of the cases is different, the type of client is different, and we want to make sure that we tailor-made our movements to the different families of products. Next year, we will be also focused on the offshore, which has been a very important pillar of our architecture and the offshore will position more clearly towards the sport complications that was the historical positioning when it was launched. So there will be this type of focus, and then we continue exploring shapes, and we will see what's happening next year. Yeah, I mean, you've done some sort of limited edition special shaped model watches. I mean, we've sometimes been looking back at previous models in the catalog with the heritage of the brand. Yeah, is there room to do more of that? I think there is, because if you look at the rise in interest of vintage watches, in reality is a signalings trend, which is bigger than that. The trend is going back to the history and the roots of brands, and going to the authentic nature of the brand. That's why we are looking to continue being inspired even more by our story, which is, by the way, a very rich story of models, because indeed the Royal Oak is an important pillar, but is 52 years younger out of a 150 years history of the brand. And there is so much inspiration from previous models, but we don't want to do that in an nostalgic way, just reproducing the past. The past is a guardrail to tell us this belongs to us, if you want, as a DNA, but we can do and we want to do more than that. So yes, the answer is, it's an inspiration. We will continue looking at that and also think through how do we push it further from a mechanical standpoint. And you talked about the offshore, I mean, considering the sort of mark that you're leaving on the brand in terms of usability, in terms of accessibility. I mean, what's that going to mean for the offshore? Going for, because it's a great part of the line up. It's a great part of the line up and it fits a clear segment of our clients who want to watch that can express the free spirit, the exploration of the world. We know that offshore is used very often when, of course, people practice sport, when they travel. And there is this side, which is much more exploratory in the sense that openness of two new materials, the combination of materials, there is, of course, the desire to have certain materials that fit the lifestyle of the offshore. So this is all the thinking that we have been doing over the last year or so in to make sure that the architecture of our line fits the purpose and the mission of each line. So we are very strict in for this line, the offshore, the code or the Royal Oak and concept, the movement is intentionally delivering that purpose. The material we choose is just not a material, it's a material that's served at very purpose. So there is a linearity and logic for the choices that we're going to make moving forward. Are we going to see more variety in size on the offshore, do you think? Indeed, with time, because as you know, this is one of the vectors where it requires patience, because the size of the movement is really thinking completely of the movement, from the main play to the bridge to all the other wheels. So we need to work on those. But the idea is in the broad spectrum of innovation, size will be one that we look at. Interesting. And you know, I want to bring up something, I mean, you know, there's a story published a few months ago, suggesting that you might be leaving the brand the board of Audemars Piguet put out a statement, basically vehemently denying that this was the case and giving your, you know, your full support. Has there been any fallout from that? How has it impacted your ability to lead and do the job at Audemars Piguet? Well, it's fake news, complete fake news. We moved forward the past that news quite smoothly, celebrating an amazing year without sending results. The board said what they had to say. I'm here and I'm tend to be here and never was the intention to leave the company. Very good. Thanks for cleaning that because I think it certainly had a lot of people talking. You talked about vintage, talked about heritage. Obviously, you're working on a Audemars Piguet Certified pre-owned program or CPO program. Can you give us any details on what that's going to look like when it's going to, when we're going to see more from that? I mean, it's been something that the brand itself has been working on even before you arrived a couple of years ago. Yes, you will, you will discover more when we are ready to launch it. In the last two years, we rethought completely the model of the CPO. So the way we are going to launch the CPO is is an Audemars Piguet type of CPO. So you should expect a very different take from the existing offerings, which are excellent offerings. So we didn't want just to duplicate what was existing in the market. If we are there, it's to offer different service to our clients and more to come. Okay, so you're not going to give us any details, but I mean, is it going to be, as you said, a different kind of model. It'll be unique to Audemars Piguet. Very unique to the market. That's why it took us a while to define exactly the business model. And most importantly, the service we offer uniquely to our client because that's really the purpose is to offer a service that they need and they want and in the last years the market change. So we started this project some time ago, but it's recently that we crafted the final model. We still need time to finalize it and talk to me a bit about how the volatility and the politics and market dynamics, which has basically been sort of an overall bit of a downturn in demand for the industry as a whole. As you say, we've seen watch exports come down, but how does that play out at Audemars Piguet, though, working at a higher level in terms of price point, waiting lists for plenty of models. I mean, how do you feel it in the business day to day and then how do you plan for when those shifts in the market actually players? Let me tell you the forces that affected Audemars Piguet because they might be not all common to the total market. Definitely common to the market and not only the market of what's making, but common to the entire many sectors is of course the role of the strengthening of the Swiss franc since we report and that's affecting the Swiss companies. Then we had the increase of the gold for all the companies where there is gold in the mix. It has been affecting and the role of the tariffs and definitely China that has been slowing down. These were the four macro forces that defined in a way 24 or 25. These forces didn't affect us in terms of softening of demand, but of course we suffered an increase of costs like everybody else. We are delivering a very solid financial performance top and bottom line, but not without efforts just to be very clear. Somebody was telling me yesterday that indeed it's like pedaling up hill and very few have the skills to do that. I think we see now that it's becoming a tougher job to succeed in watchmaking, which in a way has been the case for many decades. We have been on a roller coaster with the disease industry, but I'm extremely positive because the signals I see are positive in terms of demand and interest in watchmaking. I would be worried if I wouldn't see the young generation interested in what I see is exactly the opposite. I see an average age of clients opening the door of the market and I'm sure of the other brands at a much younger age than the previous generation. What I see is I see a generally interest for mechanic, for the movement, and the much less watchmaking as a state of symbol, which is interesting because it's much more sustainable. You can change state of symbol very easily, but when the passion is there and is a generally passion for watchmaking, it's there to stay. How do we see that? We see the interests of visiting our museums, the manufacturing, reading articles on watchmaking, more and more that we issue you guys, play a critical role journalist in bringing the attention to the inside watch, the movement, the behind the scene of the production, and interesting masterclasses because we have been offering masterclasses to clients, thinking this is something very specific for the passionate, in reality, since we opened the door very, very recently to sign up for the masterclasses to the general public. We see younger kids with families being really interested in learning more about this industry, and you realize it's no longer an industry, it's truly culture, it's art, and it's a form of education that we want to sustain further. So I am extremely bullish and positive about the future of watchmaking in general. And you know, it's not something that since I've been talking to you in this role that you really like to talk about and focus on, but you know, you're a woman CEO in the watch industry, that's still a very rare thing. And I think that you want Automata Piguet to appeal to more women clients. How have you done on that? Do you think and what ways have you, you know, what tools have you used? Do you think to expand, you know, that customer base? It all starts from the basic of listening, understanding your client base, right? And women like men have their own needs, desires, and interests. And surprisingly, the first key learning is that we have been doing a mistake in watchmaking by classifying watches by gender. This was right some time ago. I'm not denying that there was that type of preference, but if you look at the word of today, women do not choose the watches that we think are meant for them. And the other way around for men. So yes, definitely there are certain models that cater for women, the more for men, yes. But when we say complication for men, complication for women, we make a fundamental mistake in creating a bias that in reality doesn't exist. And this is what I'm trying to break as a barrier number one to attract women. Because when I see a client woman, I first ask the question, why do you use a watch? What is the role of the watch in your everyday life? And based on the answer and based on our knowledge and interest, you realize that many of these women actually are very interested in having even a big diameter, or they are absolutely not interested in having diamonds on the dial, but they rather want to see a complication. And there is room for everything. Like in everyday life, we play with our clothes. In the morning, you were a suit, in the night, you were a dress, and we see women and men playing a lot. We're not even an assortment of watches that is extremely diverse. So my first point is listen to women, like listen to men, listen to young generation, and really observe how they use the watch. And when you observe, you see things that they cannot even verbalize. Never ask people what they want, observe how they live their life, and that's where ideas come from. And women, more and more, are interested in mechanical watches, in complications, and are interested in watches with a story. Like for instance, the Sarwheel on the code is a complication that is particularly loved also by women. The tourbillon, we are the new codes 38 to tourbillon are very much liked by women, like men as well. So again, I'm trying to break this paradigm, and this is it is working. So we are growing up proudly more than 25% with women targets. Wow. So can you give me some more metrics on that? I mean, in terms of your growth. That's right. This is the growth. This is the real growth. So we're going faster with women than with men, because of course we started from a lower place. Can you give us any sense of that percentage women, men versus women in terms of your every time? And the large majority remains remains men. Of course, let's say I think we are in the turtish roughly for women and the rest is men. And and you would know that that's actually probably better than many of your peers in class. Based on the studies run around watchmaking in the next seven years, they should reach 45% of the market of mechanical watches. So we follow, we should follow the market. There is no reason why we shouldn't. And you think you can get there? Yeah, for sure. I think we can. Last thing. I mean, you and I have been talking over the past little while ahead of that panel we did the other day. And, you know, I was asking about what things coming into the to the watch industry as an outsider that you've been surprised about or frustrated about and that you are, you know, a little bewildered that the Swiss watch industry does things this way. Talk to me about some of those those things. And then what do you think you can do to make those things better? Let me tell you that the surprises and the wonderful things of this industry are by far the majority of my observation. I think it's an industry that I always respected, liked from outside, but I never realize the love, the passion, the genuine interest and knowledge that exists in this industry. And most important of all that I've never seen anywhere, these queasy and interconnectivity that exists among companies. In watchmaking, suppliers, but also other brands and other companies. There is a true genuine interconnectivity comes from historical reasons where companies were depending on one another. They were could develop in movements together. They were co-signing the dials of the brand. It's just an amazing emotional, anyway, signal of ability to work together. And this is something that surprised me and made me fall in love with this industry. That's why I really never talk about competition. And why is that? Because the addressable market is so big. And actually, one another, we are helping creating interest, a passion for watchmaking. And I love the collectors when they come to our APIs, they come also with another brand. And I always ask, and don't hide it, there is nothing you should be proud, you have an amazing piece from another company that made the history of this watchmaking. So for me, this is the biggest surprise and something extremely proud. And that's why one of the reasons I felt in love with this category. But you also found that the industry sometimes on certain issues and tasks moves too slow. Do you think that you can make that pace of change increase and shift? I think we need to respect the timing of watchmaking development that I have a reason for existing. So everything that is manually done needs to remain manually done and keep the tempo. I like it also that we don't set a deadline to innovation because that's dangerous, especially when you want to invent something new. If you set a deadline, ultimately, you make a compromise. So that's something that I respect. And I think it's important that remains as such. What we can all do better is listen into the external, being more open to the stimuli from other categories, other markets, and be learning and cross fertilizing. Excellent. A lot of your rest. Thank you for your time. Really appreciate it. Thank you so much for inviting. Thank you. And that's the business of watches for this episode. We hope you enjoyed. Please head on over to hodinky.com where you can join the discussion and leave any comments or questions about this episode or the business of watches in general. Who knows, we might even answer your question on a future episode. Thanks for listening and see you next time. We'll be back in two weeks with a fresh episode of the business of watches. Until then, I'm Andy Hoffman and I'll see you on hodinky.com. [BLANK_AUDIO]