Headquarters in La Chaux-de-Fonds and SolothurnRodolphe + Roamer + CAT = R&R Time Group
Today, the watch industry is in the throes of change with buy-outs, mergers, regroupings, and the sharing of development, production and distribution facilities. Now, three more middle-range brands have pooled their resources so each can develop in its own niche. The newly-formed R & R Time group will preside over the destinies of Rodolphe, Roamer and CAT.
The complementarity of the three watch brands is clear. CAT (for Caterpillar, known worldwide for its big earth-movers and, more recently, for its range of clothes and shoes) belongs to the large-volume lower-mid-range segment ($60 - $250). Its trendy products are a big hit with a young international clientele. For its part, Roamer fits into the mid-medium-range (CHF 150 - 500) and has a more mature, rational and Cartesian philosophy, as well as watchmaking roots dating back to 1888. Rodolphe is positioned in the upper-mid-range (CHF 500 - 2,000) and its watches reflect their designer, Rodolphe Cattin, an open-minded intellectual who is interested in the arts and stamped with the deep respect for true horological values that characterises watchmakers from La Chaux-de-Fonds. The group is planning to offer a perfectly complementary range of products covering a wide price spectrum. To this will be added a second layer of complementarity at the market level.
The R & R Time group has created a holding company under the direction of a group of Swiss and international financiers. The principal owners of the three brands have each ceded a part of their holding to the new group, which will be presided over by Mr Steve Kocher (right in photo), the manager who spearheaded the rebirth of the Roamer brand and, more recently, the ISA industrial movements group. The vice-president, Mr Jacky Epitaux (left), formerly market manager at Zenith, will be responsible for distribution. And designer Rodolph Cattin (centre) will continue to design the products for his own brand name as well as the other two, ensuring a synergy in product image while highlighting the particular characteristics of each brand.
The group's headquarters will be in La Chaux-de-Fonds and Solothurn. All Roamer's and Rodolphe's Swiss-made products will continue to be manufactured in the Jura region. The group currently employs 21 people. It has already created around ten jobs and envisages creating a further twenty in the near future, without counting those generated at the sub-contractors. The three brands plan to produce 250,000 watches this year, and increase that to 500,000 within the next two years.