Swiss watchmaker Roger Dubuis bucks the trend

[Photo provided to China Daily]

Swiss luxury group Richemont, which earlier owned 60 percent of Roger Dubuis, said in January that it had bought the remaining 40 percent, without disclosing the price.

While some analysts say the move indicates the increasingly difficult situation faced by niche brands, Pontroue says he views it as more of an opportunity.

"It was purely an opportunity to give Richemont the ownership of the company so we can accelerate our development," he says.

"The brand wouldn't be here today if we haven't had Richemont to help us ... in real estate, in distribution, in communication and in hiring the right people. Richemont is involved in many key decisions."

Pontroue says that it is much more challenging now to operate a small brand when the big luxury groups have a majority of the business, but he adds that Roger Dubuis has managed to secure the support of a big group while maintaining its own character of being flexible and energized.

"We are in an industry which requires a lot of funds and resources to make things happen, compared with 10 years ago. The barriers to enter the industry are much higher. The fact that we are with a big group is a major asset. We have access to information, to logistics, IT and people."