Bremont in the Financial Times. It's bleaker than we thought.
Bremont changes design language to seek a wider appeal
Under new management, the UK watchmaker’s latest models are focusing on more general concepts of adventure, aimed at younger buyers
A lot of interesting information on the affairs and ownership of the company here in this article. It's quite eye opening really.
Things seem bleaker than I imagined for the brand if you are a fan.
To summarize:
The English brothers no longer own a majority share of the company and hence have lost control over the direction of the brand and company.
The in house movement that the brothers wanted to bring to all of the time pieces will now be reserved for a small niche segment of their offering. New movements will be imported from Switzerland.
The trip tic case construction is to be slashed, as are 40% of the models that were in the lineup before this rebrand.
The "Britishness" of the brand is to be "expressed much more through exploration, designs, colours and references to the golden days of British watchmaking.”
Thoughts?
Tool watch enjoyer. Bremont owner.
So cushion case stuff, like Farer is already doing?
I don't know about "brand" identity, all I know is how cool their unit watches are tbh.
That sucks that they are now minority shareholdersz
I can’t speak of the cases, because I’m not familiar with much of the brand. The logo emblem change feels unnecessary.
That “Britishness” part I don’t see much of a problem with.
Honestly, while I think in-house movements can be interesting, I am glad those are being scaled back. For the sake of customers, every big brand doing it on their own just won’t be good for the long term. Collaboration and sharing would be much better. I think people forget that specialization for movement manufacturing exists for good reasons and yields good results.
I agree in spirit but it’s also true that traditionally feminine models sell because those are still the watches many women want. I would still have some in there while making the main collection available and inclusive to them.
I don't like rebrands and so this feels a bit odd. I may be biased because I think those new watches are ugly.
Trip tic case seemed like a signature thing, thought that was the best thing about them. I understand the move away from the Horage movements, they are probably too expensive and that isn't what sells watches to the masses.
Bremont is a brand I’d love to support but I honestly can’t think of a single model in their directory that stands out. I can’t picture any specific watch in my mind when I think of them. It’s not that I dislike them, I just don’t like any of them enough to want to buy one.
As someone that does/has own/owned at least 25 different watch brands, the fact that Bremont hasn’t been one is quite remarkable. Perhaps the brand under new stewardship will find a way to make their products more appealing to more consumers?
This feels like the wrong pivot. These new pieces feel really generic and characterless to me.
I quite like the look of the new Terra Nova, but at $4600 CAD before taxes, I will never own one.
I think Bremont suffers from being in a very competitive segment of the market, and they don't have the "history" or marketing budget to make themselves a more well known brand.
I don't think their watches offer enough for the price point, which is a shame. It's a brand I've wanted to buy into but haven't found the right watch and can't commit to their asking prices.
I'm even less likely to get one now they've changed the logo. I wish them all the best.
Bremont is a brand I’d love to support but I honestly can’t think of a single model in their directory that stands out. I can’t picture any specific watch in my mind when I think of them. It’s not that I dislike them, I just don’t like any of them enough to want to buy one.
As someone that does/has own/owned at least 25 different watch brands, the fact that Bremont hasn’t been one is quite remarkable. Perhaps the brand under new stewardship will find a way to make their products more appealing to more consumers?
Love the Wright Flyer ...... the price kept me away from buying one.
That sucks that they are now minority shareholdersz
I can’t speak of the cases, because I’m not familiar with much of the brand. The logo emblem change feels unnecessary.
That “Britishness” part I don’t see much of a problem with.
Honestly, while I think in-house movements can be interesting, I am glad those are being scaled back. For the sake of customers, every big brand doing it on their own just won’t be good for the long term. Collaboration and sharing would be much better. I think people forget that specialization for movement manufacturing exists for good reasons and yields good results.
I agree in spirit but it’s also true that traditionally feminine models sell because those are still the watches many women want. I would still have some in there while making the main collection available and inclusive to them.
Or does it? Good chance they sold well. Maybe stinks for brand identity. I really appreciate their pre-change line-up and there are great deals to be had used.
On the otherhand, their marketing and website is not great and intentionally vague in places it should not be.
Honestly if they just kept the name and made some more affordable (say £1200-£1500) basic watches with swiss movements they could probably make a killing as a mall brand 🤷
Making them cheaper would appeal to the masses more easily
Honestly if they just kept the name and made some more affordable (say £1200-£1500) basic watches with swiss movements they could probably make a killing as a mall brand 🤷
That’s a great point to be perfectly honest.
I know Giles, and it's a shame to hear things are drifting from his original idea. Having said that, you have to evolve, more so if you don't have a long history or an iconic watch in your catalogue.
The triptych cases were wonderful if a tad too big—they were modern and unique, which set them apart in an industry obsessed with looking backward. Shame that it’s going away in favor of what these bland new releases signal. Also, the new logo is awful.
Perhaps I’m reading this differently and seeing the positives, or at least I am appreciating where the brand was struggling?
The original plans for the brand were always seen to be overly-ambitious, and you have to wonder how were they planning to get there? They went all in on the ENG, and although the turnover is £28m they were making a loss, and if you have major backing from external investors, results are required. If the brothers were slightly maverick, you want to rein that in, and if you plough further cash into the business then you want a pair of steady hands at the wheel. The guy behind the Black Bay seems a sensible choice, no?
The operational processes needed improvement and were “a bit unusual” - well that says a lot… that is a hell of an insight from the new CEO.
People have moaned about the Trip-Tick case being lost, but it’s clearly had its time and was limiting. New cases are thinner, sleeker, with more durable steel, which is on trend.
The movement update is interesting - I had wondered about this, and if the prices of the Fury and Audley are anything to go by, I suspected they were either going fully in-house with new variations albeit at a reduced cost, or maybe stopped and gone to assembled. It seems to be an economic decision if they needed to flog models at £6k to recoup and thus it was not sustainable. Query answered.
They are aiming for markets they don’t currently reach, and are streamlining the offerings to reflect what buyers want - sensible.
Higher end pieces as well? Great, if that’s your bag. Tag do similar, people buy the “entry level” and people buy the Mario Kart tourbillon: got money, people buy things.
So there it is… whatever was in place wasn’t working, and now they course-correct, and we see what happens. I’m not reading the obituary of a brand here, I’m seeing a metamorphosis, and the results are unknown. I reserve final judgment on “relaunched” Bremont until I put a Terra Nova or Supermarine on my wrist. This getting tedious now, put the pitchforks down.
Surprised you didn't like the quality once in hand. I've always been impressed with their fit and finish. Including on some pieces that didn't really impress me in pictures.
And that’s why I never buy off the internet. Only when in hand can you get the connection, and it just felt awful. The bracelet felt like it had come from a Seiko and the rubber strap that came with it was so thin that it felt like it would snap under tension.
it's a shame to be honest. I liked it back in the days when it was quite honest and different
it's a shame to be honest. I liked it back in the days when it was quite honest and different
Amen. I don’t quite dislike them now I must admit. But it feels like they’ve lost something for sure. I’m remaining hopeful until I see / hear more.
indeed, there is something missing for sure. I have seen a short video of the booths at the Watches and Wonders fairs and I will go to see it live because their booth it seemed a bit off. Like it's some sort of wannabe cool kid to be able to hang out with the big boys:)
They've absolutely destroyed the character of this brand. It's now an uninspired, generic looking watch brand.
Davide Cerrato has singlehandedly destroyed this company.
True. They're a lot better priced on the secondary market.
That's fair, but secondary market prices don't help Bremeont keep their head above water.
That's fair, but secondary market prices don't help Bremeont keep their head above water.
Very true.
Yes, they were very hit and miss with their old style. I think this rebrand is trying to do exactly that, appeal to more new customers. Sadly however, at the expense of what long term fans really loved about them. But I understand that they have bottom lines to meet.
I hope they can turn around the brand's fortunes & still keep a semblance of their origins. There's too much history in the brand to see them fall completely by the way side.
I hope they can turn around the brand's fortunes & still keep a semblance of their origins. There's too much history in the brand to see them fall completely by the way side.
I would like that too but sadly it doesn’t look massively likely. Let’s see how things unfold over the next couple of years..
And that’s why I never buy off the internet. Only when in hand can you get the connection, and it just felt awful. The bracelet felt like it had come from a Seiko and the rubber strap that came with it was so thin that it felt like it would snap under tension.
Well, that's totally fair. At least you're not left in two minds about it, that can sometimes be more frustrating.
Bremont is the brand I really want to love yet can never find a model I actually want to buy, they're always too big and the price always seemed that little bit too high, when you compare them to a black bay for example (which I did buy). These new models feel a bit of a miss to me though, a field watch is a good idea as a low cost option but this feels ...rushed? And the diver I feel looks like it's borrowing from Tag Heuer?
The movement idea was cool and I had a tour of the Wing which looked like they were going hard on manufacturing here in the UK but seems the cost didn't work out. I do also think the H1 watches were hurt more by their design than by their price bracket, they didn't really knock it out of the park looks wise
Oh my God.... RIP old Bremont. They were ateadt willing to do their own thing. Now they've been taken over and will probably morph into "British" wannabe Tudor
Bremont is the brand I really want to love yet can never find a model I actually want to buy, they're always too big and the price always seemed that little bit too high, when you compare them to a black bay for example (which I did buy). These new models feel a bit of a miss to me though, a field watch is a good idea as a low cost option but this feels ...rushed? And the diver I feel looks like it's borrowing from Tag Heuer?
The movement idea was cool and I had a tour of the Wing which looked like they were going hard on manufacturing here in the UK but seems the cost didn't work out. I do also think the H1 watches were hurt more by their design than by their price bracket, they didn't really knock it out of the park looks wise
I totally agree with your last point regarding the H1 watches. Their H1 Supernova felt like a bit of a A.P Royal Oak homage at best and knock off at worst. They should have kept trying to innovate with the design of that line of watches, especially given that it was going to be the lineup that first featured their own in house movement, instead they came out with that Supernova / Royal Oaky thing. Utter shame really.
I totally agree with your last point regarding the H1 watches. Their H1 Supernova felt like a bit of a A.P Royal Oak homage at best and knock off at worst. They should have kept trying to innovate with the design of that line of watches, especially given that it was going to be the lineup that first featured their own in house movement, instead they came out with that Supernova / Royal Oaky thing. Utter shame really.
I think it's mostly a balance of funding Vs ambition but the design is always crucial, to my mind a tweaked Martin Baker might have been a better launch partner to a new movement, it's a design people loved
I think it's mostly a balance of funding Vs ambition but the design is always crucial, to my mind a tweaked Martin Baker might have been a better launch partner to a new movement, it's a design people loved
Yeah, that could have been a really good option. I’m guessing anyone with a legacy MB might have been tempted to rebuy too.. but I guess they wanted new customers so wanted to launch with something entirely new. It’s all rather a shame really being an original Bremont fan.