Business Breakdowns
· John Reardon
[00:00:00] S1: Well, it's so cliche, but Patek Philippe has brilliantly navigated now, well, soon to be 200 years of history by never putting all their eggs in one basket. When a company focuses on one product or one style, and they're just so hyperfocused on being the best, but in a very limited scope, you're at risk in a wider marketplace. Patek Philippe has always navigated the 19th century ups and downs in the economy and certainly in the 20th and now early 21st century by being true to making the best but of a wide product line. Yes, they make sports watches. Yes, they make dress watches, but they've always made clocks, also jewelry. There's been a wide array of different types of product offerings that they've made throughout their history. So there's always something for everyone. So I think that's very important because if you look at other watch brands, they're focused on one particular aesthetic, one particular look, and that's highly risky. If the world changes really fast and all of a sudden, I'll be obnoxious. Your 60-millimeter watch all of a sudden is out of style because it's too big. Then your brand is done. Patek Philippe has always offered something for everyone, and it's also very, very focused on an important women's line as well as a men's line, simple watches and also complicated watches, so there is something for everyone in high-end horology within the world of Patek Philippe. That's the first lesson. Never put all your eggs in one basket. The other thing I think they've really navigated is how to run a family business, which is not easy, and it comes back to that idea of dynasty, where from one generation to the next time change. There's always an ebb and a flow, but Patek Philippe by always thinking in the past, present and the future, at the same time, they're able to make decisions that are not shortsighted, and I think the business world can learn a lot about branding, by looking at how Patek Philippe has navigated their history. And it's a master class in understanding how to protect your brands at all costs, take enough risk to build your brand, but never be too hyperfocused in one particular product, or you could lose everything. And by being a family-run business, they've been able to navigate that absolutely brilliantly, generation after generation.
· Matt Reustle, John Reardon
[00:00:00] S0: Absolutely rings true. And I think in my own research and a lot of the things that you've done on 1989 and the real strategic shift that happened there, there's so much interesting lessons to learn from that. And I've been stuck on that really for the past 1.5 weeks thinking about how thoughtful the approach was and how much they really just controlled the message that was going out there and aligning it with what they had done for years and years and years. So thank you very much, John. This was a masterclass in terms of this business, and we really appreciate you coming on. [00:00:00] S1: Thank you for your time, Matt, and absolute pleasure to be part of your show. It's been a lot of fun today. Thank you.