This week on The Business of Watches, we talk to the man who runs the brand that makes the mighty El Primero movement. Benoit de Clerck has been in the CEO chair at Zenith Watches for a couple of years now, and that’s coincided with a challenging time for the sector and one of the industry’s most storied brands, with more than 160 years of history and still located in its original manufacturing location in Le Locle, Switzerland.
Under de Clerck’s leadership, Zenith is responding to the challenges with a multi-pronged approach. It’s throttling production to keep sell-in and sell-out balanced, he says. But it’s also stepping up its movement, making production expertise and supplying more calibers to other brands, also under the LVMH watch group umbrella. As for those reports and rumors that Zenith is up for sale? We ask de Clerck straight up if the El Primero maker is on the selling block. Have a listen to hear his forceful and fulsome response.
Andy Hoffman
2026-03-04 16:00:00