LOOKING AT THE NAME OF THIS BRAND, SOME OF OUR READERS MAY THINK ABOUT THE SPEECH ABOUT THE "BULAVA" ROCKETS OR ABOUT THE SAME SYNTHESIS WEAPON THAT BECAME A SYMBOL OF UKRAINIAN.
However, the brand and products manufactured under it were named after its founder, which continues to be proud of to this day. We will talk about the clock. And our interlocutor, Dennis Perry, president of the Bulova watch company, is pleased to talk about the formation of the brand during the period of recent history and the importance of entering new strategic markets today, one of which is the Middle East region.
First of all, Dennis, let me congratulate you on the fact that the Bulova brand has finally appeared in the Middle East, thanks to cooperation with Al Tayer Group. Secondly, let's talk about why it was important for the company to appear in this market right now?
I must say that in North America everyone knows the Bulova watch with the legendary tuning fork on the dial. During the polls, 93 percent of Americans whose income exceeds $ 100,000 a year said they wore or once wore them. And this is not surprising, because Bulova went down in history not only as a manufacturer of watches, but also as an advertisement. If we turn to history, back in 1926, the exact time signal at the first commercial radio station in the United States was accompanied by a sound saver: “At the tone, it's 8 P. M., B. U. L. O. V. A., Bulova watch time”. That is, even then all Americans knew that Bulova is, first of all, accuracy.
Then Bulova also created the first ever television commercial. For 20 seconds, during a break in a baseball game in 1941, a clock was shown on the background of a map of the country, accompanied by a simple text from the speaker: “America runs on Bulova time!”, And I must say, the company, paid then for this video the amount of as much as $ 9, had every right to proclaim such a slogan!
Today the world has completely changed. And, given the processes of globalization, we came to the conclusion that the popularity of the Bulova brand on the American continent is clearly not enough. And went to new markets. Moreover, over more than 100 years of history, we have accumulated excellent experience in overcoming various crises, so we were not at all embarrassed by the fact, for example, that we introduced our products on the Russian market in 2008, in the midst of the global financial crisis. We were sure of success, and our instinct did not let us down. Today we are entering the Middle East market, primarily planning to cover countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
And I suppose we can find our fans here.
Dennis, please tell me to whom the brand owes its name?
An immigrant from Czech Bohemia, Josef Bulova. Driven by a great American dream, a 23-year-old man opened his jewelry store in New York in 1875. Even then, he knew for sure that success can be achieved only on one condition - by offering the buyer the best product at the best prices. Having caught the spirit of the times, on the eve of World War I, Bulova begins the production of interior and pocket watches in collaboration with watchmakers from Switzerland. By the way, Bulova wall, mantel and floor clocks are still in great demand in America. True, we hardly offer them in other markets.
Mr. Bulova, who has become a 100% American in the style of doing business, soon begins to produce watches - first men’s and then women’s, sensitively listening to the market’s needs for accuracy, reliability and beauty. On the eve of World War II, almost simultaneously with Henry Ford, who put the production of cars on the conveyor belt, the insightful Joseph Bulova introduces a fundamentally new concept of watch production, based on the complete standardization of all parts of the watch movement.
This step not only reduced the cost of production, but also revolutionized the maintenance and repair of watches. Work on advancing technologies, ideas, and time itself allowed Bulova to invest in research on a grand scale. So, in 1928, the company offers the world's first clock radio, in 1931 - electric; in support of related areas of technology in 1929 patented a fundamentally new automobile watch. In 1926, Bulova announced a prize to a pilot who would make a transatlantic flight alone.
The first of the watchmakers around the world, Bulova began to invest more than a million dollars a year in advertising his products. It was in the early crisis 1930s, and the then dollar "weighed" 12.5 times heavier than the current one. Thanks to the financial genius of its founder, who died in 1935, the company successfully survived the Great American Depression, with almost no decrease in sales - watches were willingly sold in installments. Even the poorest American in those difficult years was well aware that time is money, and the exact time from Bulova is money.
Today we also widely advertise our products in print and electronic media, actively use television and outdoor advertising, willingly sponsor sports and charity events, present our products at leading watch exhibitions. This gives the brand additional international recognition.
Which segment would you like to consider a Bulova today? What is complicated mechanics? Jewelry watches? Everyday need? And what are the main advantages of Bulova watches?
I would say that Bulova at all times is affordable luxury. The prices for our watches, depending on the collection, range from 200 to 5,000 dollars. Agree, not being the most wealthy, anyone can afford to purchase our beautiful and accurate watches. When buying a Bulova watch, the buyer must be aware that in addition to the glorious history and unsurpassed quality of products, our company is a specialist in diamonds that adorn the models from the Diamond line, and is also an innovator both in the original design and in technology.
The main subject of our pride has always been the high accuracy of our watches. So, for example, the real heyday of the company, which brought it worldwide fame, came in the late 1950s, when the famous Accutron was born - fundamentally new watches with an accuracy of ± 2 seconds per day (or one minute per month). The inventors of Accutron were Swiss Max Hetzel and American Wi-Ou Bennet, who dared to turn over the basic principles of classic watches. The accuracy of this watch exceeded all standards that were conceivable in those days for watches. In 1960, Bulova began to mass-produce the wrist Accutron-214, which made a pleasant musical sound instead of the usual ticking. For 17 years, this watch has remained the most accurate on Earth and in space.
Accutron technology has been used by the United States National Aerospace Agency (NASA) in 46 US space missions. In 1969, the Akkutron timer fell into the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon, where it was brought on the Apollo-11 ship by the first lunar people Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, who soon became Bulova's envoy to the whole world. The fame of the “space tuning fork” was so great that the company chose it as a symbol. That is why today all Bulova watches are marked with the image of the famous tuning fork, or “turning fork”. And one more moment seems to me extremely important. Then, in the middle of the last century, our Accutron watches were used on American railways, and President Linden Johnson declared them "The Official Gift of the White House Administration." Since then, Bulova watches have not lost their reliability and accuracy, becoming the legitimate pride of collectors and watch lovers.
What is happening in Bulova workshops today?
We continue to produce well-known lines of watches with diamonds and mechanical chronographs, along with unique models based on quartz movements. After the company moved from one investor to another in the 1970s and 80s and regained its leading position in the United States, in 2002 we began to conquer the European watch market, moving headquarters from New York to Swiss Friborg for this purpose. Developed by the best designers, watches manufactured in Switzerland have found a lot of fans in the markets of the Old World.
At the same time, all Bulova models are faithful to their own tradition - they are distinguished by high accuracy and affordable prices. In 2008, we became strategic partners of the Japanese company Citizen, which allowed us to bring innovative technologies of the future to the market. Today, we are proud to present our new Precisionist range. This is the most accurate watch in the world today, the error of which is only 10 seconds per year!
We pay special attention, of course, to jewelry watches and the collection, which bears the direct name of the company - Bulova. These are round, square, rectangular cases, barrels, mother-of-pearl dials, steel, gold, crystal and sapphire glasses, precious stones and the best diamonds - the wealth of choice is striking in its truly American scale. All of them, of course, are equipped only with Swiss mechanisms, cases and other accessories and are assembled by Swiss masters. Only the prices for Bulova watches can hardly be called Swiss, since we remain leaders in our own segment - luxury affordable for everyone.
And whatever the further development of the situation in the watch world, we are tuned to our own, special tuning fork. Tuning fork Bulova!
Dennis, the last question. What do wrist watches mean for you personally?
First of all, a reflection of their own personality and status. You can read the time now everywhere - on mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices, but tell the world: “Personally, I relate to myself, to life and everything that surrounds me” only correctly selected watches will help.
Well, I have nothing to add to this. Thank you for the interview. Good luck to you and Bulova in new markets.
