As a Dutchman who has worked in the US and Asia before moving to Switzerland to start a watchmaking company, Peter Stas, CEO of Frederique Constant, transformed his hobby and passion into a well-recognised brand. While working in Asia, Peter and his wife saw the strength of Japanese watch brands and quartz calibres; however, he knew that the only place to start a watch company was in the home of the Swiss watch and clock industry: Geneva.
According to Peter, starting Frederique Constant from the ground up has been a challenge. When we started the whole project in the beginning of the 1990s, we did not have the knowledge to build watches, but we were able to learn a lot from suppliers. I also had the great chance to meet a production manager from a watch planned from the Swatch Group, from whom Ive learned a lot.
Also, the calibresthe little engine inside the watchwe could purchase those at the time from specialist manufacturers and they would come automatically with a whole stack of paper explaining the functioning, as well as the dimensions and all the requirements from the case around the calibre. So that was the first big challenge; to really learn a new product, how it had to be manufactured, and working with subcontractors to make that happen.
Since Frederique Constant was a new name in a heavily contested market, another major challenge came from vying for display space in the watch and jewellery channels. That was a big challenge and today, 25 years later, remains a challenge because other brands are always trying to push you out, and you are doing the same, but there is only limited display space in the shops. So that is a constant battle, and you have to come with all of the benefits of the product, the price, the marketing around it, and the whole business model for the retailer to be able to make a living out of selling your watches.