Patrick Pruniaux has a healthy disdain for business jargon.
“I learned not to use buzzwords or business slang because it’s meaningless,” the Ulysse Nardin CEO once said.
This approach means that the tall, military-trained Frenchman often has an original take on things. During a Zoom conference on September 16 from Geneva to promote the brand’s Blast range of watches, Pruniaux said it was “meaningless” to worry about the age of the target audience.
“I sometimes get questions about ‘do you target younger audiences’, or whatever. I think, honestly, it is meaningless. What matters is to manufacture amazing product,” Pruniaux said.
“Does Porsche design a car for a man or a woman? They just manufacture a 911. And the 911 is just brilliant. We are not Porsche. But in philosphopy, iconic products are probably universal in taste and desirable across the board.”
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Pruniaux’s statements were triggered by a question from a journalist as to whether the brand would have unisex models in their collection. The query was first answered by Jean Christophe Sabatier, the brand’s chief product officer.
“When we develop something we relate it to a sex (gender). It could be ideal for men or women, but we never try to develop something that is unisex,” Sabatier said.
“Of course, after that, many women like to wear men’s pieces and many men are going for diamond-studded proposals which traditionally are feminine.”
Pruniaux said that the “levers of agility” in the company helped him stay positive through the pandemic.
“To my knowledge, we were the first in the Swiss watch industry to ask all our employees to go back home to protect them. And then we were proactive coming together extremely rapidly after the lockdown,” Pruniaux said.
“The lever of agility has been second to none. I’m extremely proud to lead this team and that keeps me positive.”
COVID-19 should not be seen as a commercial opportunity, said Pruniaux.
“No one should decently talk about opportunity during the pandemic. That would be inappropriate,” he said. “I think it is a time for reflection, adaptability and embrace the change that will come. And I think the team is doing it very well.”
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