A discreet man, not given to appearing in public beyond his professional obligations,John Vergotti, CEO of Patek Philippe Ibérica, had not granted any interviews until now. His absolute involvement with the brand he represents (in Spain, Portugal and Andorra) leads him to break that silence for the sake of better dissemination of its principles and philosophy. that you have chosenSpecial WatchesFor this it is a privilege. He welcomes us to the recently inaugurated facilities on Diagonal Avenue in Barcelona.
Just a year ago the brand's approved workshop was inaugurated in Spain. What has moved in this time?
It's been a year since we opened these facilities, but the truth is that the workshop had been operating since 1998, when the subsidiary was created, and most importantly: it is the third approved workshop inPatek Philippe, after that of the Manufacture and that of the Geneva Salons. It's not that there weren't more markets, but it was considered that before starting to sell directly (up to that point there had been a distributor) we had to be able to maintain the existing watches.
What has changed?
The truth is that little. We have added two new watchmakers while one has retired, but our way of working has not changed. Of course, we have developed a certain specialization in some processes that allow us to help other Patek workshops in the world, always coordinated by the Manufacture. It is not a privilege but a strategy for the better overall functioning of the brand and, above all, for better service to our clients, with whom we make a commitment.
Having an approved workshop in Spain will have meant the search for highly qualified profiles. How have you found the Spanish labor market in this sense compared to a place as specialized as Switzerland?
This is an important topic. Switzerland is in the center of Europe with neighbors like France and Germany, and it also has its own schools, and it is relatively easy to find what you need in a short time. Here it is much more difficult. It is not that it affects us in a critical way because we do not have rotations and our squad is very stable, but when we have had to incorporate someone - recently, due to retirement - we have had difficulties in finding the ideal technical profile, and this is something that can be extended to Portugal. And it is a shame, because although there is a watchmaking school in Barcelona (La Mercé) I think it does not receive the support that would allow it to produce high-level watchmakers. Watchmaking is a wonderful profession, but without a local tradition I think it would be the responsibility of the institutions to give it relevance and dissemination, especially when the school already exists and it is a profession with a future. Motivation, would be the word. In 2017 we started a program that will select a young person to be trained in Switzerland under the Patek philosophy and standards in order to incorporate them in Barcelona, and we are concerned about the possible culture shock in watchmaking terms. We need to raise awareness of the nobility of this profession, but above all, to spread it appropriately. Perhaps then the micromechanics schools would change their name to watchmaking schools... On the other hand, I disagree with the statement, which I read too often in the forums, that in Spain there are no good watchmakers: it is not true, and proof of this are the ones we have at Patek, all Spanish.
Before Patek you had worked in the two large watch groups, Richemont and Swatch Group. A logical progression?
I have been in the watchmaking world for twenty-five years, and when I arrived in Spain in 2006 I knew that Patek was going to be (or, rather, I hoped it would be) the last company on my resume. There has not been a specific strategy in this, rather I consider it fortunate to have been able to work in those two large groups before reachingPatek Philippe, learning first-hand what luxury is. First in Vendôme – the precursor of Richemont – a true university in this field, where I was entrusted with general direction and my first management of a workshop, and later, coinciding with the purchase of Breguet, alongside an extraordinary man like Nicholas G. Hayek: a whole school in itself. Also, in a stage that we could call romantic because of what it means to leave a large group to enter an atelier, I went through Bovet, where I experienced what proximity, even personal, with the client is: I have traveled to Hong Kong to hand-deliver a watch and return almost on the same plane... All this has logically helped me to carry out my current task.
How has the brand evolved in Spain since its incorporation?
When I arrive at Patek I discover the last step in this progression, the top. Before you know it from references, interviews, but once inside you live it: for Patek, making watches is an art. “We are going to make the best watch possible without worrying about time or resources.” And this is not only a way of speaking but a philosophy, a culture, and it is what we transmit to our clients. My arrival in 2007 means the second stage of the subsidiary in Spain. At first, the work of establishing the brand and contacts with points of sale had already been done, but it was time to consolidate: more rigor in management, strengthening ties of trust with retailers (basically fulfilling what was promised to them) with a team that has tripled in size in these ten years.
How has the brand evolved?
It's not just that we sell more... well, we do sell a little more (smiles), but above all we sell it better, we have our customers - both distributors and end customers - much happier.
When he talks about Patek Philippe he always does so by emphasizing its nature as a family business. How do you manage to maintain that personality when working internationally?
Basically defining the ship's compartments well and entrusting each one with a function, from the one who is drawing the shape of a new watch to the one who is researching new materials. This well-oiled machine might give the impression of high volume production, but it is well known thatPatek PhilippeIt produces around 60,000 watches a year, very few compared not to the groups but to some brands of those groups. It is true that international events can influence sales, however our watchmakers continue working because the company culture inspired by the owner family is based on four closely related pillars: quality, people, humility and work. And this philosophy is what in some way isolates or, rather, protects the watchmaker and the company itself from external influences that could divert it from its own objectives. And above all this is the management of the company, carried out precisely by the family for three generations now.
You have talked about researching new materials. How do you combine innovation with tradition?
Because of the compartmentalization that I mentioned before. While some design the aesthetic part taking into account tradition, history itself, cultural heritage in short, others are rethinking shapes or parts of mechanisms to improve performance or increase, for example, the power reserve. And this includes, as I said, new materials. Materials that may not be immediately useful and require years of development until they can perform their function. Silicon is an example: before we could use it we spent years learning and getting to know all its possibilities. This combination, together with the artistic part and the desire for perfection, makesPatek Philippemanage to produce that art I talked about at the beginning. We haven't heard about silicon in three years, I wouldn't be surprised if it came back with a new application. We will see.
To maintain the character that makes them unique, it is necessary to achieve a certain adaptation of the partner network. What specific attention does that task require?
Complicity, listening, sharing... and, above all, respect. We respect the diversity of the other party while sharing values. We also respect, of course, your criteria when awarding one or another watch as opposed to the belief that it is the brand that decides that. Trust between the parties – always keeping in mind that these are two different companies – is essential. Our network is small: we currently have nineteen points of sale in Spain, three in Portugal and one in Andorra. It could be broader, and in fact we have a good list of candidates, but we believe that we are already with the best and we want to reward their efforts in some way by making a significant investment to be able to sell a few watches... few compared to other brands.
I understood that the House decided to whom certain pieces were sold…
If we are talking about super complicated pieces, with very limited productions precisely because of their complexity, it is Mr. Stern himself, our president, who makes those decisions. It's easy to understand: of the 5208 model, which has a production period of two years, one arrives per year at our subsidiary, so that more than twenty years will have to pass before all our points of sale can have one! They are not arbitrary decisions: of course they are discussed at length between all parties, but the final decision is effectively yours. There are other watches like the 5396, let's say more in the average price, that all our distributors have, and sometimes they ask us if they can have any more. Generally, the entire production of one year is already allocated for the next, so we like to make sure that that extra watch we say is for a client of the house and not one passing through. It is not that we decide whether it is delivered based on who it is going to be sold to, but we do discuss it with the distributor - and there appears the complicity that I was talking about before - because they also know that for us it is an effort given the limited production.
Aside from super complications and watches that are more or less complex to produce, there is a model with a very high demand that it would seem that Patek has no intention of fully covering when perhaps it could. I'm referring to the Nautilus 5711/A. Pure marketing?
I am not going to discover now some marketing bases regarding supply management in the face of permanently unsatisfied demand, and we all know examples of other brands with iconic models that at least apparently do the same thing, but in our case the main intention is not to maintain or extend the expectation. There is a brand in a segment similar to Patek that at the time decided to satisfy all the demand for a model or, better yet, for a collection that was experiencing unprecedented success. The result was that today it is perceived as a mono-collection brand. Patek, by decision of Mr. Stern, wants to be multi-collection: men's watches, women's watches, round shapes,tonneau, square, rectangular... that guarantees the survival of a brand in the long term, because the shapes that are popular today may stop being so in a few years, and one way to remain current is to become a classic yourself. These are the reasons (not just one) why the current offer of Nautilus models in general and the 5711 in particular is what it is... although I am going to give you a scoop: we are going to slightly increase the quota of Nautilus 5711 and 5712, because despite what I have just explained, we do not under any circumstances want the Nautilus customer to feel "punished" with excessively long deadlines. A highly complicated customer may understand that they should wait up to two years, but there is no justification for that period for a Nautilus.
In recent years, luxury watchmaking has also noticed the economic crisis. How has a brand like Patek Philippe experienced it in a country like Spain?
The luxury trade is a risky and even violent sport, and for this reason you have to play it as a team. Retailers have had difficult times these years because some brands have pressured them to cover their quotas when the market was not supportive. In our case, with our background, our projection but above all our values, I must say that they have not been bad years. Many customers, even in these unstable times, have decided to take the step of purchasing a watchPatek Philippewith the conviction that they were not “spending” their money but rather buying something of value in the future (I don't want to talk about investment). There have been ups and downs, of course, but in a company of the size and production like ours those contrasts are minor. Another key is, once again, the company's management, which decided to maintain its growth plans (58,000 watches by 2016) regardless of these ups and downs, and the results have proven them right. The short answer would be “yes, we had a good 2015 and yes, we are going to finish a good year in 2016.” And we are not the only ones, although it is also true that there are not many of us.
Can we talk about an idiosyncrasy of the Spanish or Portuguese client or collector compared to those from other countries?
In all markets there are both, clients and collectors, and there is certainly a difference between the two terms. But by attending international events we have detected that in Spain and Portugal there is a higher level of knowledge of what the watchmaking art is that we develop at Patek and of course in other brands. Looking to the future, the Iberian market is a market with enormous potential, and I want to say that the media, with their informative work, are no strangers to this. As for the collector, it could be compared to painting: if you have bought the watch of your life and you are still interested in delving into watchmaking, the easiest thing is that you want to have another one and then another...
Finally, the obligatory question: What is your favorite Patek?
Well, I could say the 5396 annual calendar that I carry at the moment, or a perpetual calendar, or any other striking complication and I would be telling the truth because it is true that I like them, but what definitely makes me lean is the simplicity of the Calatrava. In a Calatrava you have summarized the essence ofPatek Philippe.
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