Hublot Global CEO: Hoping Hublot becomes a star itself

　　Since 2004, almost all major events for Hublot have been inseparable from the brewing of Jean-Claude Biver. Today, this watchmaking genius has handed over the position of Global CEO of Hublot to his long-time partner Ricardo Guadalupe. During the F1 Grand Prix in Shanghai, the CEO, who took office in 1, brought the latest Big Bang Ferrari limited edition watch to Shanghai to detail the unique story of Hublot to Chinese consumers.

　　2004 years ago, Hublot was not as famous. It was the then-CEO Biver who revived the brand with the revolutionary Big Bang series. "Guadalupe and I have been partners for nearly 20 years. Biver created many miracles at Omega and Blancpain. He is a marketing genius with endless ideas and creativity, while I have strong execution skills to turn those brilliant ideas into reality," said Guadalupe.

　　Through this "strong partnership," Hublot has been able to keenly capture current trends and identify the best marketing methods in recent years. "During the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Biver, then CEO of Hublot, was dining with senior officials from the Swiss national football team. They asked, 'Why has no watch brand sponsored football?' Biver immediately replied, 'We would like to.' There was no precedent for a luxury watch brand partnering with football before Hublot, and the collaboration brought significant attention to the brand. Since then, Hublot has extensively engaged in cross-industry collaborations with sports, such as basketball and F1 racing, achieving great success in marketing," said Guadalupe.

　　After Bernie, the head of F1, was robbed, he mailed the photo to Biver, who immediately used the raw image as an advertisement with the caption, "See what people will do for a Hublot." This became another widely discussed case study for the brand. Guadalupe has inherited Biver's "marketing legacy." At this year's Baselworld, Hublot launched a jewellery watch set with no fewer than 1282 diamonds, valued at 500 million USD, capturing maximum attention for the brand. "This watch is enough to attract consumer attention, and it is also part of our unique marketing strategy."

　　Hublot entered China 2009 years ago, and the Chinese market accounts for only a small fraction of global sales. Guadalupe noted that Hublot is still in the phase of building brand awareness in China. "Those heritage brands arrived in China many years ago and are already household names; Hublot is simply following the path they took. The difference is that the Chinese market is developing rapidly with high consumer receptiveness, which will significantly shorten the time it takes for Hublot to become a mature brand."

　　This year marks the 20th anniversary of Ferrari sports cars entering mainland China, and Hublot will host a series of promotional events with Ferrari to boost the brand's visibility in China. Guadalupe stated, "China (including the Hong Kong and Taiwan regions) has become the largest export market for Swiss watches, holding immense potential. This year, we will carry out various promotional activities in China tied to F1, football, basketball, and other events. We will also open more boutiques and establish service centres."

　　Another secret to Hublot's success lies in its products consistently adhering to the philosophy of "Fusion and Innovation". Guadalupe proudly showed reporters the "Big Bang Ferrari" limited-edition watch, crafted from the brand's proprietary "Magic Gold" material—an alloy of gold and ceramic that exhibits a matte bronze hue, exceptional wear resistance, and can withstand crushing pressures of up to 1000 Vickers hardness, leaving only diamonds able to scratch its surface.

　　Pursuing innovation without blindly expanding production is a strategy that has gradually made Hublot a remarkable watch brand. Staff members aggregate and analyse sales data from every region daily to adjust quotas at any time. In this way, Hublot is always able to produce according to demand and develop steadily. "Hublot is very cautious and rational. While maintaining a sense of scarcity for our customers, we will steadily increase production, and in the next three to four years, production will increase to 40,000 pieces," said Guadalupe.

　　Over the past few years, the true star of Hublot has been Biver, and Guadalupe hopes that, without Biver's aura, Hublot can continue its triumphant march under his own leadership. "From 2004 to the present day, Biver and I have joined forces to create Hublot's success. If one day I step down from this position, I hope Hublot itself will become the star, rather than relying on any single individual in the CEO role," said Guadalupe.