Where nostalgia meets technology
By OMER RAVEH
10/03/2012 15:16
Deputy manager of Tissot watches, Ulrich Fischer says their new line makes a modern statement with a vintage voice.
Tissot Photo: Wikicommons
Ulrich Fischer, deputy manager and marketing vice president of Tissot, came to
Israel with his wife to attend the launch of the Tissot Tradition Perpetual
Calendar, a watch that makes a modern statement with a vintage
voice.
Fischer entered the field of watches after a successful career in
cosmetics and toiletries, mostly in Asia.
After receiving a BA at the
University of California, Berkley, he went to study in Freiburg, Germany, where
he received a doctorate in economics. He was then awarded a scholarship to study
Japanese in Tokyo.
Fischer has had a wide-ranging career in sales and
marketing, with a special emphasis on Asia. With his background in economics and
a multicultural approach, he worked for Nivea in Tokyo, and then worked for
several years as a marketing director in Japan and China for the German company
Henkel. At Henkel, he had several marketing positions, as well as sales
management positions in Japan, Germany and China. In 1995 he took on the
position of manager at MCM, an Asia-based producer of leather products and
accessories located outside Germany.
His became familiar with the watch
industry in 1997, when he worked as the international sales manager of Ultime in
Switzerland. Fischer, who speaks German, English and Japanese, took on his
position at Tissot in 1998.
Tell us a little about Tissot.
The
company has 159 years of experience in manufacturing quality watches and has the
highest output in the traditional Swiss watch industry. Tissot markets its
products in over 160 countries in five continents, with over 16,000 points of
sale, earning approximately $900 million a year.
The heart of the company
is in the central district of watchmaking in Switzerland. The company belongs to
the Swatch Group, the world’s largest watch manufacturer and
distributor.
You obviously like the field of watches.
Yes, very
much. I feel that it’s not just a job but also a pleasure. I think it’s very
important to do something you love.
How many watches do you have?
I have
no idea what the exact number is, but most of my watches are made by Tissot or
by Swatch. I work for the company, so I have no reason to wear other
watches.
How do you decide which watch to wear?
It depends on my
mood.
How many watches did you bring with you to Israel?
This time just
one.
When did Tissot enter the Chinese market?
In May 1994. It was one of
the first European brands in China.
How do you feel about the commercial
course of development in China?
China today is an important power that plays a
central role.
Its shopping force is tremendous both in China and outside
of China, since the world is filled with Chinese tourists.
An up-to-date
watch with a touch of vintage
Tissot’s Tradition series gives modern watchmaking
a hint of nostalgia. In keeping with the retro trend of going back to the 1950s,
the Tissot Tradition Perpetual Calendar model comes in three variations: a white
board with a brown leather band; a black board with a black leather band; and a
brown-gray board with a stainless steel band. The watch has six hands, each of
which functions separately to provide the wearer with an array of information
about the date and time.
Apart from the hands for hours and minutes,
there is a seconds hand at the bottom of the board, under which there is a moon
with a hand that points to the day of the month.
On the upper part of the
board there are two watch faces -- one for the days of the week and one for the
months of the year.
One of the truly unique features of the watch is that
the date needs to be adjusted only once in 99 years.
Price: NIS 3,135 to NIS 3,460