Kering hires Alain Riguidel as president of luxury watch division

Kering has poached veteran luxury watch executive Alain Riguidel from their competitor Compagnie Financiere Richemont to head their luxury watch division. Riguidel will take over as president of Kering Luxury Watch Division North America effective this week.

He will oversee Ulysses Nardin and Tradema of America Inc. and will be in charge of all activities of Ulysses Nardin and Girard-Perregaux in North America. Riguidel's experiences at Richemont include management positions in Europe, South America, and the Middle East over the past 18 years.

His most recent role was as the regional brand director of Piaget Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Miami, Florida.

Riguidel will have his work cut out for him, because as with all other luxury goods, the market for luxury watches is slowing down. AME Info reported that figures from the Federation of Swiss Watch Industry says that Swiss watch exports have seen a 16.1 percent decline compared to last year. In the wake of economic conditions in markets like China, there's no telling when the industry could rebound.

photo:ulyssenardin.com