Replica Watches:Franck Muller' s Acquisitions

In April, 2005 the Franck Muller group purchased the biggest part of holding in the companies of designer Rodolphe Cattin and in the French firm Alexis Barthelay.

Vartan Sirmakes, the co-founder and Managing Director of Franck Muller Watchland announced that the company had intended to grow through a few acquisitions. The transaction with Rodolphe & Co took the form of an investment through an increase in capital.

Vartan Sirmakes aimed at uniting the development potential of the Jura based manufacturing company with the industrial, financial and human reserves of the Geneva group, acting according to its multi-brand development methods. After Franck Muller, they began with Pierre Kunz and ECW, which have already reached the tops of success in their own fields.

Rodolphe Cattin, founder of the company with his name, perceived the integration favorably. He wanted his company to become recognizable in watch designing and to expand the Rodolphe brand. He realized that the company needed a "complete" partner that could provide industrial, commercial and financial support, but also a partner who could share the brand’s perception and values. The founder has no doubt that with Franck Muller and Vartan Sirmakes he discovered the right partners as the outstanding achievements of Franck Muller speak for themselves.

Rodolphe has kept its independence in regard to management and design, and may use the possibility of designing for other manufacturers. Industrial and commercial synergies have taken place in order to assist and accelerate development of the Rodolphe brand.

Half a dozen people in Les Bois and around fifteen in La Chaux-de-Fonds have been working at Rodolphe annually producing between 1.000 and 2,000 watches. As for the Franck Muller group, it produces a very up-market range close to 50,000 pieces and has employed about 600 people. In addition to its Geneva sites, which have been developing Franck Muller, Pierre Kunz and European Company Watch (ECW) timepieces, the Genthod based group is also presented in the Jura mountains with three companies: the research and development laboratory Neo SA in Neuchâtel, Pignons Juracie SA in Lajoux, and Les Fils d'Arnold Linder SA, a dial manufacturer based in Les Bois. And in March, 2005 the Franck Muller group has acquired a small majority interest in Parisian company Alexis Barthelay.

Vartan Sirmakes plans to continue the multi-brand development strategy in a complementary segment and take care of interesting synergies in terms of production and distribution to give fresh stimulus to Barthelay, which features great commercial potential.

Roland Barthelay is the chairman of the board of directors of Alexis Barthelay SA, representative of the second generation at the firm’s executives and founder of the Barthelay brand. He has aimed the company established in the 1930s, to unite Parisian fashion and luxury and Swiss watchmaking. Today, to ensure the successful future of the brand and of the company, the shareholders of Alexis Barthelay SA have decided to consolidate the company within the main luxury watchmaking group. They are proud to have joined the Franck Muller group.