Nicolas Hayek formally declares this in an interview with the Swiss financial newspaper Agefi, whose piece, in Italian, we quote in full.
"Nicolas Hayek drops a bombshell. The kind whose repercussions threaten to rock the Swiss watch industry as a whole. The president of the Swatch Group "wants to stop the delivery of watch components produced by his group to competitors". Hayek is not only talking about watch movements or ébauche, but also about all the other products manufactured by his industries, such as hands, cases or the regulating organ (balance and balance spring, ed.). These highly strategic parts are only produced by a small number of other suppliers, in Switzerland of course. In fact, the overwhelming majority of Swiss watch manufacturers have to go through the Swatch Group for many, if not all, components. The watchmaking patriarch says he is 'tired, annoyed, angry' at the constant proceedings launched against his group by its competing third-party brands. According to him, they systematically file actions with the Competition or Justice Commission every time the Swatch Group makes a decision, whatever it may be. The information seems far-fetched, being of the most explosive kind. The future of Swiss-made watches also depends on it. Protest guaranteed. Therefore, Nicolas Hayek says he is more determined than ever. 'These are not threats,' he said in an interview with Agefi. Hayek is asking the antitrust authority to rule on the matter and say, under what conditions and on what terms, the Swatch Group could apply its decision. An entire team is working within the two-year-old group to conduct what could be a revolution for the sector. Nicolas Hayek denies, however, that he wants to kill off Swiss watchmaking. 'It is up to the competitors to put their industrial apparatus on the market,' he proclaims. For the group's loyal friends, i.e. the brands without litigation, the doors could remain open. Christmas for many manufacturers is likely to have a bitter taste'. Source: www.agefi.ch
