[Interview] Patek Philippe President Thierry Stern

Patek Philippe President Thierry Stern, who visited Japan for the first time in a long while, was first asked about the reasons for establishing PP6, the production facility completed in 2020.

We have no intention of increasing profits by increasing production volume.

"The purpose was to consolidate all of our previously separate manufacturing facilities under one roof. The biggest advantage is that we can communicate faster and more accurately. Watches are not just made by machines. Behind the scenes, there are people. I believe that if communication between people does not go well, we cannot make good products."

　PP6 currently employs around 2000 people. "We've introduced the latest technology, so we need more space than before, and in recent years we've had to introduce environmentally friendly equipment for sustainability reasons. As a result, the area is now over 100,000 m2, but expanding the building will not lead to an increase in production volume. We place the utmost importance on quality, so we have no intention of increasing production numbers to increase profits. Considering the size of our current building, we believe it will be usable for the next 20 years, so we're not considering expanding."

　The company's current annual production volume is about 7 bottles. "We believe this is the upper limit, and we won't increase it any further. This is because our priority is to maintain a stable production volume. For example, even if we develop new technology, it takes time to introduce it and stabilize production. If we rush it and problems occur, we will suffer even greater losses in order to recover the losses. To prevent this from happening, we decide on production volumes while maintaining quality."

　However, the biggest challenge at present is what to do with the "contents" of the product lineup, which produces 7 bottles per year.

"We have a wide range of creations, and we release new items every year. Of course, once we release something, we have to manufacture it. The more items we release, the more complicated and difficult the production process becomes. In fact, people on the front lines are saying that we have too many items. So, unless we eliminate something from our current products, there will be no room to manufacture new items."

"So, when it comes to which models to eliminate, unfortunately, all of the models we've released have been popular, so it's becoming difficult to make the decision to eliminate unpopular models. Also, if we wanted to add more complications to our product lineup, as is typical of Patek Philippe, it would inevitably lead to higher prices. We want to appeal more to the younger generation as well. To that end, we are formulating a strategy that maintains accessible prices, secures a certain level of profit, and also takes future customers into consideration. Either way, it's an extremely difficult decision."