Somebody will still remember the Interprofessional Association of Haute Horlogerie (AIHH, from the French initials). This was an association of 11 brands (Audemars Piguet, Baume et Mercier, Cartier, Corum, Ebel, Girard-Perregaux, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, Vacheron Costantin and Zenith) and 200 shops, which certified the professional value of its members through appropriate training courses. As a result, many watch shops in Italy boasted AIHH-certified service or sales staff and, if associated, displayed the relevant plaque next to the shop door.
This association was dissolved a few years ago, for reasons we do not know well enough to analyse here.
Today, from the ashes of that experience, the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie was born, whose secretary, not surprisingly, is the same Jean-Claude Roustant who was secretary of the AIHH.
The associated brands, however, are not the same. Neither Zenith, Ebel or Corum appear, for example, but the circle has narrowed down to the brands of the Richemont Group, flanked by Audemars Piguet and Girard-Perregaux. Although there is a willingness on the part of the Foundation to welcome new members, at the moment important brands such as Patek Philippe and Breguet are keeping out, while Rolex has responded to the invitation with a categorical no.
The Foundation shares with the old AIHH the same aims of training the sales force, and to this role it adds a new objective: that of promoting the culture of Haute Horlogerie, through a Cultural Centre that has its primary communication tool in the portal hautehorlogerie.orgin English and French. Italy, therefore, is currently cut off. But it is also an understandable choice, given that in our country the culture of Watchmaking (all of it, without preconceptions or limitations) is already widespread and supported by a specialised press of the highest level.
Good luck, therefore, to the newly established Foundation. We look forward to seeing its future developments and hope to share its policies and communication strategies.
For those operators interested in training, here are the titles of the courses to be offered by the Foundation: 'Sales Techniques', 'Watchmaking Culture', 'After-Sales Service and Difficult Situations'. These will be followed by in-depth seminars ("Haute Horlogerie and Complications", "The Conclusion of the Sale and the Defence of Values") and a specific course for retail managers ("Dynamising the organisation and sales team in a Haute Horlogerie shop").
