On Monday, Nicolas Hayek, the owner of Swatch watches, died at the ripe age of 82. He was born in Lebanon and became the savior of Swiss watch industry by introducing the Swatch watches. Mr. Hayek died in Biel, Switzerland.
The Swatch watches were first launched in the year 1983. Since then, they have been widely popular throughout the world.
The website of the Company revealed that he died due to a heart failure, while he was working at the headquarters of Swatch. He was the Founder and Chairman of Swatch Group.
Swatch Group also comprises some popular and precious watches like Omega, Longines, Calvin Klein, Breguet, Mido and Tissot. Having such high end watches in his kitty, Mr. Hayek became the richest man in Switzerland.
In the year 1980, Mr. Hayek had reportedly stepped in to shut down the Swiss watch industry, but, over the years, he took the industry to great heights. He had a colorful personality accompanied with a mischievous wit.
The Harvard Business Review described him as "a rare phenomenon in Europe - a genuine business celebrity" in the year 1993.
He was also engaged in some other projects like the design and progress of the Smart car, which was owned by Daimler.
Source: http://topnews.co.uk/27689-nicolas-haye ... up-dies-82
Swatch Group founder Nicolas Hayek dies
Reuters
ZURICH - Swatch Group chairman Nicolas Hayek, one of Switzerland's most prominent and colourful entrepreneurs, has died of heart failure at his workplace, the company said.
Mr Hayek, who turned 82 in February, was widely credited with saving the Swiss watchmaking industry by reorganising the ailing Asuag and SSIH watch companies, merging them into Swatch Group, which he took over with other investors in 1985. He became chief executive and chairman in 1986.
"With the unexpected death of Nicolas G. Hayek, Switzerland and the Swiss economy lose one of their leading personalities," Swiss President and Economy Minister Doris Leuthard said in a statement.
Mr Hayek was a driving force for the Swiss economy with his courageous engagement for entrepreneurship, she said, adding, "We owe Mr Hayek a lot."
Saviour
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Swiss watch industry, which excelled in complicated mechanical watches, had trouble coping with the advent of highly reliable and much cheaper quartz watches.
Mr Hayek did not hesitate to embrace quartz technology for the Swatch watch, launched in 1983, and the colourful plastic watch quickly became popular all over the world.
Its success drove the recovery of the Swiss watchmaking industry and helped turn the company into the world's largest watchmaker.
"Mr Hayek's contribution to the Swatch Group and the Swiss watch industry was immense. We view today's announcement as a significant loss for the company," Citi luxury goods analyst Thomas Chauvet said.
Executives across the industry heaped praise on Mr Hayek, with Jean-Claude Biver, boss of official FIFA World Cup timekeeper Hublot saying his death left "an incredible void" in the Swiss watchmaking industry.
He left a company in good health. In May Mr Hayek, who was often seen with two or three watches on each wrist, said Swatch was on course for a record year, with sales expected at more than 6 billion Swiss francs ($US5.5 billion).
"Nicolas G. Hayek's extraordinary vision enabled him to realise and ensure the sustainability of a strong watchmaking enterprise with high Swiss added value. He is rightly recognised as a leading entrepreneur in this country," the company said.
Mr Hayek was often critical of financial markets, and last year teamed up with the vice-president of the populist SVP party, Christoph Blocher, and the head of the Social Democrats to call for a firm stance on banking regulation.
Mr Hayek's son, Nick Hayek, has been chief executive of Swatch Group since 2003 and was elected to the board at the last annual general meeting in May.
Mr Chauvet said the "Hayek pool" remains the largest shareholder in the group, controlling 41 per cent of the votes. Analysts said this was unlikely to change with the passing of Swatch's leading light.
"The Swiss watch industry has lost a legend and he will be sorely missed. I expect a smooth generational changing of the guard at Swatch Group with the Hayeks firmly in control," Kepler Capital Markets analyst John Cox said.
Source: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs. ... enDocument
Anyone ever one a Swatch watch? I've had a few. This was my first one:
Swatch Turquoise Bay
Looks like I should have kept it. According to the following website, it's worth $250 today:
http://www.swatchandbeyond.com/index.php?productID=384
Sad to hear he's gone.
