Watch retailer Kirchhofer imparts recipes for success

Confirming this statement is the fact that his father quit his job and opened his first watch store in 1944, when the heart of Europe lay in ruins towards the end of World War II. 

With an initial investment of 10,000 Swiss francs, the shop that started with just seven Longines watches has now expanded into Europe’s largest Swiss-made watch retail network, offering more than 100 brands along with jewellery and gift items. The network now encompasses eight stores, six of them in the tourist destination of Interlaken.

Having been in the business for 35 years, Kirchhofer has inherited his father’s passion. He recalls the old days when he and his sister were given old clocks, with the instruction to disassemble and reassemble them. He studied watchmaking and applied the boldness inherited from his father in expanding the business. 

“It’s a tough business,” he conceded, adding that keeping profit margin down is crucial to attracting traffic to his shops. The margin is being squeezed to maintain an edge over other retailers. 

He said his shops offer prices relatively close to the levels available at Zurich Airport, aside from discounts that are on offer for big groups.

Kirchhofer also places emphasis on customer satisfaction and training. At his shops, customers are met by employees who among them can speak 18 languages, including Thai, Japanese and Mandarin. Soon, this will be expanded to 20. 

“It’s important to talk to clients in their own languages, as some customers like the Japanese do not speak English,” he said.

Employees are also sent for regular training to keep them updated on mechanical aspects of the business. It is essential that they all know everything about the mechanical side of things if they are going to offer the best maintenance services, he said. 

In his interview with Europa Star magazine, Kirchhofer cited training as the biggest challenge for retailers, aside from security problems. Getting employees of different nationalities, in the belief that customers like to receive service from their fellow countrymen, he had to train them all. 

Kirchhofer also has to keep himself updated on the latest innovations and trends. He attends international watch fairs, primarily those held in Basel and Geneva, on a regular basis. “I must be there, as I must be the first. Like boxers, we have to get the punch in first,” he said.

His visits to the major fairs result in new brands being introduced to his stores, including Urwerk, which has won his heart with innovation that Kirchhofer says has revolutionised the 400-year history of Swiss watchmaking.

Established in 1995, Urwerk features a new winding system regulated by compressing air utilising miniature turbines for the UR-202 timepiece, and 100- and 1,000-year indicators in the UR-1001.

Boasting the best mechanicals, Swiss-made wristwatches have turned into collectors’ items. As a result, Kirchhofer now offers special services to selected clients. Two of the six shops in Interlaken are designed as galleries, where clients can watch videos on their preferred brands and enjoy the exhibition of unique timepieces.

After the Kirchhofer Haute Horlogerie I Boutique, which occupies a building built in 1599, a second boutique was opened in April last year to display some of the most prestigious brands, including Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Chopard and Piaget. 

In the past few years, Kirchhofer has also made frequent visits to Thailand to connect to promising clients here. Moreover, knowing that the business depends on foreign clientele, he has worked with Interlaken Tourism and Jungfrau Railway – the operator of trains to the year-around snow-covered Jungfraujoch mountain – in boosting the number of tourists to the area. 

Watches are his life, he said, and the watchmaker now possesses more than 300 items in his own collection. Today, he is running the venture as a family business. Kirchhofer still roams display floors and, he if sees an employee unable to explain product specs to a client, he is ready to step in. And all the passion and lessons are being passed on to his daughter and her husband, who are actively helping him. 

While expressing satisfaction about the operations, Kirchhofer said in an in-house magazine: “A lot of work is behind this success, and it needs continuous development and effort.”

While proudly showing the media his first boutique, Kirchhofer recited the motto found on the store’s facade: “Let’s keep the old things, if they are good things.” Evidently, one of the old things he wants to keep is the family’s boldness that keeps driving this successful business.