Chronicles of chronology have proved to be both challenging and charming

Although he was born in the sunny southernmost Caribbean island of Trinidad, a tropical paradise until 1962 part of the British Empire, Stephen Urquhart didn't spend much time enjoying the fantastic scenery of his hometown.

He studied abroad for much of his childhood and started his career as a marketing officer at Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Omega SA at the age of 22 after completing a degree in industrial management at the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland.

He has been a member of the extended group management board at Omega since 2000 and is president of the company.

Checking a catalogue of Omega watches at a duty free store in Sanya city in 2011. Zhu Lan / For China Daily

Thirty-two years after graduating from university, he became president and global chief executive officer of Biel-based Omega.

"Although I originally didn't have an ambition to develop in Omega, the characteristics of the watch industry, including its specialty and also practicality in being useful and closely related to many people attracted me a lot," Urquhart said.

Having been engaged in the watch industry for 45 years, Urquhart believes what convinced him to remain in a life of time was also Omega's target customers, especially those in China, the brand's biggest market globally for the chronometers.

"I think Chinese customers' choice of our products isn't aimed at showing personal status, but it is because of the products' practicality instead," Urquhart said.

"People can wear an Omega watch for 30 to 40 years. However, the tenure of use for a high-end handbag or car doesn't last for such a long time," Urquhart added.

Since 2010, China has topped Omega's global markets with the biggest sales volume in the country. According to the 2012 world watch report by Digital Luxury Group, the Seamaster collection ranked top among 1,300 categories as the most popular watch in China.

Fueled by the booming market demand and good momentum in China, Omega has been expanding at a fast pace, stepping up to opening more shops in first- and second-tier cities in China.

By the end of this month, another new Omega store is to be opened, in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province. By 2012, Omega flagship stores in China exceeded 100 with the biggest in Shanghai.

Urquhart visits China five times a year and places great importance and expectation on the company's long-term development in the nation, exploring the market by opening more new stores.

"I'm eager to follow market trends, create market strategies and know more about the habits of Chinese customers," Urquhart said.

Now aged 67, Urquhart betrayed great charisma with a twinkle in his eye.

In 2012, China overtook the US to become the world's largest watch market with its millions of potential luxury watch buyers.

In China, the world's second-largest economy, the potential is huge. Wealth groups are rising at a speed as fast as the growth of the domestic economy. There are 960,000 yuan multimillionaires and more than 60,000 yuan billionaires in China. They account for a small proportion of the total population but own 80 percent of the total wealth of the society. Individualization is becoming a fashionable pursuit among them.

Owning a luxury watch is becoming a new favorite of Chinese rich people because it's worthy as part of a personal collection and holds its value as an investment as a luxury good.

With this moneyed domestic driving force, China is also becoming the world's largest luxury goods market. A report by US consulting firm Bain & Co show that led by a 7 percent rise in luxury spending in 2012 - strong compared with the global average but down from the double-digit growth seen in China over the past several years - Bain holds that China accounts for 27 percent of spending on luxury goods and services globally, compared with 20 percent in the United States. Previous reports have projected that China will account for 33 percent of luxury spending by 2015.

In order to tailor to the tastes of customers in the promising Chinese market, French luxury brand Hermes launched a new luxury good called Shang Xia three years ago.

But Urquhart doesn't have the same plan as Hermes to offer designs tailored to the Chinese market. "The difference between Omega and other brands is that we have the same products and marketing strategy in all global markets. We insist on volume production and we don't offer special designs for a unique market such as China," said Urquhart.

"The promotion of competitiveness doesn't rely on following the fashion trends. It is to win with quality, quality, quality."

His business strategy coincides with the way the businessman behaves in his own career.

"Being a true and natural person instead of catering for the desires of others is my principle," Urquhart said of his personal philosophy.

He added there's no secret for success at all and the most important is to work hard and have talent. Trying to be a boss with cohesive power and delivering positive energy to employees is the standard he places on being a good leader.

When entering the interview room, Urquhart showed his charisma as a good leader by actively greeting his Chinese young staff who helped to arrange the interview with China Daily. "I played golf with local PGA championship chairman yesterday afternoon just after I arrived here and I won," he said, smiling.

From the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1932 to the London Olympic Games last year, Omega has taken charge of the timing tasks for 25 sessions of Olympic Games and been a continuing sponsor of various kinds of sports events.

As well as sports events, the Omega logo can often be seen at various kinds of fashion and cultural events, in business magazines and at public relation events.

The overwhelming spending on marketing, advertisement and business expansion contributes a lot to Omega's growth in China.

Talking about his initial profession, Urquhart is versed in marketing strategy-making, an element firmly supported by the brand's parent company, Swatch Group AG, the world's largest watch manufacture and distributor, which owns several watch brands. In terms of brand position, Omega follows JaquetDroz, Blancpain and Breguet. But in terms of commercial value, Omega is the gem at the center of crown.

"Being global CEO of Omega, the biggest achievement is deciding to open a franchised store and making it an important sales strategy. This step contributed a lot to helping Omega become the locomotive of the international watch industry again," Urquhart recalled.

However, so much spending of course is not impulsive. Urquhart has great hope in the brand's long-term development in the Chinese market.

"I'm quite optimistic about the potential for our development in the Chinese market, where the economy is to recover its verve and become more dynamic," Urquhart said, adding that the promising momentum in China will continue."

"In addition, the free trade agreement signed between China and Switzerland will also boost Swiss watch sales in China," Urquhart said.

In July, China and Switzerland concluded talks over a bilateral FTA, the first between Beijing and continental Europe.

"The speed at which China is growing is incredible and the country is the market that everyone wants to enter. How to sustain success in the attractive Chinese market is our biggest challenge," Urquhart said.

baochang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA10/24/2013 page16)