Richemont top watchmaking executive resigns
Swiss luxury group Richemont has announced the surprise resignation of its top watchmaking executive. Georges Kern, who was only appointed to the job last November, had “been offered an interesting opportunity to become an entrepreneur,” Johann Rupert, Richemont’s chairman, said in a statement, without giving further details.
Mr Kern was head of watchmaking, marketing and digital at Richemont, and was previously the chief executive of IWC Schaffhausen. His departure is a setback for the Swiss group at a time when the luxury watch industry remains in a downturn as a result of heavy overstocking, shifts in tourist spending patterns and the rise of “smart” watches led by Apple.
Mr Kern’s appointment was part of a revamp by Mr Rupert of his top management team which has also seen his son, Anton, join Richemont’s board, along with Nikesh Arora, the technology investor who worked for a decade at Google.
As part of an increased focus on the group’s underperforming assets, Richemont earlier this month announced it had sold Shanghai Tang, its Chinese fashion brand, to an Italian businessman.