Breitling CEO on Elon Musk “He’s on the edge of genius or total insanity.”
Today, we’re going on a group surfing trip in honor of clone Breitling’s new surf-focused Superocean collection. Kern’s outfit of choice this time is a wetsuit. “People want experiences,” Kern tells us after a morning on a surfboard in the Atlantic Ocean. What people want, Kern has the means to find.
After a successful 15-year tenure at IWC Schaffhausen, Kern has been at the helm of Breitling since 2017. Since then, Breitling has doubled its turnover and has more than 160 boutiques worldwide – with 40 more in the pipeline. He fast-tracked Breitling’s e-commerce launch in 2018, which now accounts for 10% of the brand’s total sales. Part of the reason is that Kern has launched a “squad” of celebrity ambassadors like Adam Driver and Kelly Slater, who are happy to endorse imitation Breitling.
It would be best if you had both. You have to have the movement, but I will not put out a beautiful product if I don’t have a narrative. If I had a narrative, I would do everything possible to find the right product. Someone told me at the Navitimer launch that the brand reminded him of happier days. I think that’s an amazing compliment because we want to be happy. We want to have fun. With a beautiful replica watch, what does it bring to the table? It’s not about reading time – it’s about having a feeling that feels good.
Our success is that we can sell everything, and people buy everything. I don’t know of a single person who doesn’t like at least one of our collections. The beauty is that we have electronic professional tools, as well as the super classic Premier line, iconic products like Navitimer, and the more colorful Superocean line. The hard part is bringing together design, story and history in a coherent way. A brand is a planet and you have satellites that fly around that planet, so you have to choose the right satellites to make the brand grow.
The only question we have is whether everyone knows where we are today. I would say 5% or 10% of people know how beautiful the product is and how great the brand is, so it takes time. It’s one thing to change your strategy, and it’s a whole different ball game to bring it to your target group. For that, you need a sprint and a marathon.
I’ve had really good mentors in my life, and everyone told me to take my time. I never had to listen to them. When I was young, like a Formula 1 driver, I drove too fast and sometimes I hit the wall. Today, I drive fast, but I stay on track – that’s the experience. But I never wanted to drive slowly.