"In Geneva, boutiques have been looking for managers for around a year and a half now, and it's difficult to keep people in the same place". Such is the plain truth as stated by Gianfranco Ritschel, a careful industry observer and the Swiss delegate of the FHH who is also a freelance watch industry training specialist well acquainted with the retail world - and in particular boutique management thanks to his five years at the head of Bucherer in Lugano and then as manager of the Girard-Perregaux boutique in Gstaad. According to him "there are very few really excellent individuals and so the brands quite logically put up quite a fight to hire them".

For watch brands, own-name boutiques are strategic entities that must be both commercially successful and faithful to the corporate image. "Customers are increasingly better informed and their demands have increased significantly", says Gianfranco Ritschel. "When they enter a boutique, they expect the emotional promises conveyed by brand communication to be fulfilled. And one of the essential roles of a manager is to successfully manage his team so that it can deliver on these promises." Such is unfortunately not always the case. Studies based on accounts provided by mystery customers sent to watch boutiques to conduct surveys are sometimes disastrous. Following one of these investigations, the Les Ambassadeurs group commissioned Gianfranco Ritschel to undertake an evaluation mission of the technical competencies of its entire sales personnel. An analysis of the results enabled the group to reinforce and improve its ongoing training programme by adjusting it to the strengths and weaknesses of each member of staff.

A broad spectrum of knowledge
Knowing how to manage a team is doubtless the prime quality required to manage a boutique. But being a good manager of a watch boutique is no easy task, since team leadership must be backed by knowledge of the products' inherent technical aspects. "A boutique manager is a person who must build a team in which everyone is strong, consistently motivating and stimulating his staff to maintain a constant willingness to learn", points out Gianfranco Ritschel. You certainly don't sell a tourbillon or a perpetual calendar by an over century-old brand like you would sell a shirt. And the manager must be an example in terms of technical knowledge. "It's a non-step training experience", explains Pierre Jacques, who took the reins of Les Ambassadeurs boutique in Geneva in January 2010.

For the co-founder of GMT, who left the press for the retail business, a boutique manager's job is obviously not confined to management as such. "It's more like managing a subsidiary company. There are lots of decisions to be made in terms of managing budgets, stock, personnel, etc. " In a multibrand boutique such as Les Ambassadeurs, which operates without a central buying office, the manager must also keep his finger on the pulse of the local market. Successful management depends on making the right purchases. "In Geneva, we have a large Russian clientele, and there are also a lot of Chinese", says Pierre Jacques, whose purchases are undeniably guided by his customers' tastes.

The end of the star system
There are of course significant differences in the daily reality of managing a boutique belonging to a retail group, a monobrand store or an independent retailer, whether in Geneva or any other city. Some do the purchasing themselves, while others have to deal with imposed models. Catalysing the information that must flow between the brands, the sales advisors and the final customers is one of the boutique manager's essential missions, which may also differ according to the context. Handling the communication budget, managing the stock, promoting customer loyalty… "You have to be very versatile", says Marie-Maude Michaud who runs Michaud Jeweller's in Neuchâtel. Especially in a small company like ours, we have to be multifunctional since we don't have predefined job descriptions. We juggle with marketing, publishing, jobs to be done around the store, purchasing, human resources…" Not to mention the promotional role played by the boutique manager who must be present in the store by day and at social events in the evening… "My greatest surprise was the extent to which a Branch Manager is in the limelight", says Pierre Jacques. "My arrival at Les Ambassadeurs attracted a lot of media coverage, which certainly adds to the pressure". But this kind of attention and networking definitely helps to create and maintain contacts.

While the star system as such is a thing of the past - "There will always be a preference for someone who has a broad range of skills and keeps a low profile", says the former manager of a boutique in Geneva, who prefers to remain anonymous - the manager's address book is nonetheless an important factor. "It's definitely one of the sought-after competencies", says Cédric Torres, who is in charge of the Swiss market for Jaeger-LeCoultre, "but it's not a priority. When we recently recruited Hervé Estienne for our Geneva boutique, we focused on his excellent product knowledge and his affinities with the brand, his excellent salesmanship and relational skills, as well as his ability to manage a team. His address book will fill out as he goes along."

Shortly after entering the microcosm of the city's prestigious Rue du Rhône shopping mile in early January 2010, Hervé Estienne has already created a buzz. "He got offers from other brands almost as soon as he arrived" notes Cédric Torres. He declined these offers - but for how long ? This is just one of many examples testifying to the rarity of first-rate talents managers, and the speed of managerial changes at the head of watch boutiques.