Noticed that the old design bremonts have ended up in the clearance section of Banks Lyon.
Sums it up really.
Noticed that the old design bremonts have ended up in the clearance section of Banks Lyon.
Sums it up really.
I've just had a look and it's simply not true. There are plenty of 'old design' Bremonts still for regular sale. There are 10 pages of Bremonts on their website and the latest models are ordered to the front page (hence 'sort by - latest') which is common sense but re order to 'price low to high' and the less expensive old models soon start to appear.Originally Posted by verv
The ten pages of Bremonts aren’t all in stock though are they. No.
76 are ATO listings.
That said, you’re quite correct, the new turds are occupying the front page.
Meanwhile the MB3 orange and Savannah have been dumped into the sale section along with some others.
Given that the MB is the pick of the range IMO it’s clearance says it all about where the brand is heading.
https://www.fratellowatches.com/brem...chmaking/#gref
billionaire walks into a store and walks out with a few items. He ends up loving them so much that he offers to fund the business. This may sound like a plot in a feel-good movie, except it’s not a movie at all. It is, in fact, how the story went, according to high-profile American investor Bill Ackman.
Ackman has purchased a substantial minority stake in British watchmaker Bremont after buying several watches at its brand boutique in Mayfair London. In an interview with the Financial Times, Ackman recalls sending the founders a handwritten note that read, “I admire your company, I love watches and I would love to learn more.” The investment reportedly comes from Ackman’s personal funds rather than his hedge fund company, Pershing Square Capital Management.
In 2019, the board brought in Chris Reynolds from the company’s key shareholder’s management team to orchestrate the operations. He had the mandate to grow Bremont into one of the watch industry’s preeminent brands and engineering companies with the vision and the foundation laid by the Englishes.
Reynolds tells Fratello, “Bremont has been backed by some wonderful investors for a number of years. They believe in what the brand is about. We tend to attract people who have a similar interest in investing and the same vision for the brand as we do — an interest and a passion towards British watchmaking.”
Sticking to the vision
Reynolds continues, “We’re blessed not to be working in this private-equity-type investment environment, which could be very derailing. We’re building a legacy. We’re looking to build a heritage, luxury brand here. And this takes time. But we’ve got patient backers, and we’re patient. We want to do things right and do things in a way that ensures our clients can have their products looked after for years and years to come. We’re setting up for the future.”
The brand’s leaders are fully aware of the importance of longevity and continuity. “We’re now having original Bremont clients bringing their son or daughter for their graduation present, coming in to buy their Bremont watch. And for their entire life, Bremont has been around as a luxury watch brand, “says Reynolds. “So we’re not necessarily the new kid on the block anymore. I mean, in the world of luxury, unless you’re 200 years old, you’re pretty young in real-world terms. We’ve been around for most of the lives of most people that we’re selling to now.”
Quite delusional to say the least based on latest offerings
All these people involved taking vast amounts of money yet Bremont have been loss making since the beginning...
Wish I knew the secret as if my businesses didn't make a profit I couldn't eat!!
As someone said previously, it's not so much of an issue for a limited amount of time if you are investing in the company to grow instead if taking profit. They can keep focussing on growth as long as they have the cash by persuading investors to chase the eventual profit and keep investing. That profit has to happen sometime...if it doesn't the investors will pull the plug.
I was thinking the same. The two brothers appear to have gotten a lot out of it financially yet the company has never made any money. I find that bizarre.
I find it bizarre that a brand releases some watches this year that folk don’t like, and very quickly the conversation shifts to the companies assets, the cost of refurbishing a leased building. I think this has added a few gallons of fuel to the bremont haters fire. Not sure I’ve seen this with other brands.
I don’t like tag heur watches or Christopher ward, but never felt the need to explore how well liquidated they were or if they own their premises.
you don't take a salary?
as a business owner you must know that you don't need to make a net profit to have an income and potentially a large one at that.
I've always found it odd that the owner of a business can pay themselves ''whatever'' yet have employees on ''working tax credits'', has a whiff of the Michelle Mone about it...
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Seems to work well for Thames Water...
And this latest range of watches appear to be the discharged effluent in this instance...
Here's another brand which won't be impressed with Bremont doing a homage to their logo: Héron Watches
https://www.heronwatches.com/
Polestar too might be less than impressed.
let's have some perspective.
online retailers almost never have stock of every watch that they're showing online.
online retailers almost always have the products organised either showing the most recent products first or the best selling.
Banks Lyon have 6 Bremont watches in their clearance section yet 110 in their regular watches section. Not really dumping the older design watches just yet then and might suggest that Banks Lyon still have a lot of confidence in the brand.
FTFY
It is quite possible that they are hedging their bets, and believe that old stock may become more valuable, not less if Bremont demand plummets.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I was previously a big fan of the brand, had several and have one remaining that for personal reasons I'll never sell. I followed their ambitious journey to creating a fully UK manufactured movement with great anticipation, knowing that I wouldn't be a customer of the first iteration, but maybe some time later.
I'm not a fan of the rebranding, but I'm also not daft enough to think that "we" the enthusiast community are a relevant voice or profit when it comes to running their business. However, looking at the new offerings and taking a Supermarine on rubber/leather as an example - the new watch saves you about £250.
That's not a different segment. That's not a different buyer. That's the same people with the same wallets being targeted with a (subjectively) worse looking watch, constructed from (objectively) worse materials, now lacking any of the few unique selling points that they previously had (case design, big name tie-ins e.g. Martin Baker, Boeing etc).
Totally baffling to me. And their UK made movement? Now parked in a corner of the website. "Make an enquiry". How long till the flash new manufacturing facility in Henley gets sold?
It wouldn't greatly surprise me if selling off that asset formed part of the business case for the new investors buying into the company in the first place. If they wanted to keep it, and carry on developing and building British movements, they wouldn't be doing what they're doing now.
It will be interesting to see how the general public, as opposed to watch fanatics, perceive the brand in future. This partly depends on the inertia of previous ideas about them, and any new marketing. For instance, will they assume it’s in some way better than Oris? The Oris Aquis Date Cal 400 has an in-house movement with a five day power reserve, and is £500 cheaper than the rather similar looking Supermarine. Will the Breitling style bracelet, the higher price, and vague memories of spitfires convince them that the brand is better or more luxurious? And if so, for how long?
We'll see.
It’s a shame but I might keep an eye out for a reduced price S2000.
The Bicester outlet has them.
Cheers!
If you have to much money and want to buy into a shit story, please do.
Can’t argue about design, but hardened cases, steel and titanium are common place with micro-brands, as are ETA movements.
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Keep up! Bremont aren't offering hardened cases with the new models. They are using the same steel as Rolex however so by your reasoning the new Bremont watches are as good as the latest Rolex.
I was kindly talking about their older models, the new ones are overpriced micro-brand territory.
And since Bremont uses this, amongst other things, to justify their prices I thought it relevant.
904 steel is also offered by some micro-brands, nothing to see here, just move on.
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
that was kind of my point. You can't judge any brand by the materials that they're made from. In order to compare like with like you have to see them in person, factor in the manner that they're sold - direct to consumer, through shops etc. and also factor in the after sales. There's a lot to any company beyond the materials that what they sell are made from. In my opinion and others, Bremont of the past have been on a level playing field in terms of quality of build with the best of the rest and the after sales has been second to none. The Bremont of the future is potentially a completely different animal.
Story and B/S aside (they are not the only ones to do it - climb a mountain or swim the channel ring a bell?) they do make / did make good quality watches with some interesting features.
I have been impressed by the build quality of ones I have held.
Some here too https://www.markworthingtonjewellers...bremont_1.html
Cheers!
You know Watchfinder has one (used) at £1750??
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