[Info] L’entreprise horlogère jurassienne Maurice Lacroix est à vendre

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The Swiss catch slowdown has claimed a new victim.
Maurice Lacroix, a brand that delivers 90,000 timepieces a year, has been put up for sale by owner DKSH Holding AG as the surge in the Swiss franc and a slump in demand from Asia weigh on the business. DKSH aims to find a buyer for the unit this year, Dominique Nadelhofer, a spokesman, said by phone Monday.
This year’s 15 percent gain in the franc against the euro is reducing the value of the revenue that Swiss watchmakers make abroad. Weak consumption in China, which accounts for a quarter of global luxury demand, has also weighed on European luxury-goods stocks, Goldman Sachs said in a note to investors.
Maurice Lacroix watches are selling at discounts, which have reached as much as 66 percent off the list price
‘It’s a decent enough brand but operates in a competitive price segment and lacks the retail muscle of the bigger watch groups,’’ said Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux. He estimates the watchmaker is probably worth about 100 million francs ($105 million) and has annual revenue of about 70 million francs.
Swiss timepiece exports had their biggest monthly drop in more than five years in May. Ulysse Nardin, a watchmaker owned by French luxury-goods maker Kering, said that month it would cut jobs to adjust to weaker demand.
Amazon Discounts
Maurice Lacroix makes watches that typically sell for 1,000 francs to 5,000 francs, according to Nadelhofer. Amazon.com lists discounts of 20 percent and 49 percent on models in that range, and as much as 66 percent off a more elaborate $8,760 men’s timepiece.
The luxury business also includes the Glycine brand and a joint venture with Davidoff. DKSH may sell it all as a package or in separate parts, Chief Executive Officer Joerg Wolle said on a call with reporters.
DKSH plans to exit watch production to focus on its main activity, which is helping clients expand in Asia in industries such as consumer goods, technology and pharmaceuticals. The company will continue to offer marketing and other services in the luxury-goods industry, Wolle said.
Several parties have approached the company for Maurice Lacroix in recent years, Wolle said, adding he’s “confident the brand will find a new home within a bigger group.”
DKSH said its consumer-goods unit had a one-time charge of 59.4 million francs related to writedowns and costs at the luxury business in the first half. That follows “many years of above-average profitability” for those activities, the company said. The restructuring will boost profit in 2016, the Zurich-based company said.
The stock fell as much as 5.1 percent and traded 3.9 percent lower at 67.10 francs as of 12:57 p.m. in Zurich. DKSH’s first-half operating profit rose 6.2 percent to 139.5 million francs, missing analysts’ estimates for 142.8 million francs. Demand for consumer goods in Thailand fell, weighing on the consumer division in a market where DKSH gets about a third of its revenue.
Swatch Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest watchmaker, isn’t interested in buying Maurice Lacroix, according to spokeswoman Beatrice Howald.
“We have all the brands we need,” she said.