Swatch Group compra Harry Winston

O Swatch Group, o maior do mundo em termos de Relojoaria, acaba de anunciar a compra de 100 por cento do joalheiro norte-americano Harry Winston.

O comunicado:

Swatch Group acquires the jewelry and watch brand Harry Winston Inc.

Biel/Bienne (Switzerland) / New York (USA), January 14, 2013 – The Swatch Group Ltd. in Biel/Bienne acquires 100% of the shares of the US company HW Holdings Inc., owner of Harry Winston Inc., 718 Fifth Avenue, New York 0019 (NY). The Swatch Group Ltd. acquires the brand and all the activities related to jewelry and watches, including the 535 employees worldwide and the production company in Geneva (Switzerland). The acquisition sum amounts to US$ 750 million plus the assumption of up to US$ 250 million of pro forma net debt. The transaction does not include the mining activities of Harry Winston Diamond Corporation (TSX: HW, NYSE: HWD) – new: Dominion Diamond Corporation –, in Toronto (Canada).

Robert A. Gannicott – Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Harry Winston Diamond Corporation commented: «The Harry Winston brand now has a new home that can provide the skills and support that it deserves to realize its true potential.»

And Nayla Hayek, Chairwoman of The Swatch Group Ltd., says «Harry Winston does brilliantly complement the prestige segment of the Group. We are proud and happy to welcome Harry Winston to the Swatch Group family – diamonds are still a girl’s best friend.»

The transaction is subject to the approval of the different regulatory authorities.

A opinião de Edahn Golan, jornalista especializado em Joalharia:

Swatch has many high-end watch brands, but not one that is as diamond heavy as the Harry Winston watches. The $750 million price tag plus $250 million debt, (triple most other offers) makes sense for Swatch if you consider the following: First, Swatch wants a high-end diamond watch line. Next, Harry Winston has a plant in Geneva that is working below half capacity. Swatch can beef-up that operation and, with the power of its excellent marketing, propel revenues further, bringing it closer to the +20 percent that other higher-end Swatch brands enjoy. Finally, while Harry Winston, Inc. had an estimated 5.7 percent profit margin in 2012, removing the debt financing will add an extra few percentage points to its bottom line.

According to Barron's, Swatch CEO Nick Hayek told analysts that in four or five years, it can turn Harry Winston into a brand with 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.07 billion) a year in sales and profit margin of about 25 percent. That puts the price in perspective.

There is another benefit – high-end jewelry. Swatch has been selling jewelry for many years, but never on the scale that made Marilyn Monroe sing, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend." With a salon on 5th Avenue, this new and promising situation can beef up Swatch's bottom line.