Citizen bought what...

[bottom of the ninth]

Not sure but this seems to be huge for Citizen, so Swiss brands if I correct??
http://www.watchpro.com/frederique-cons ... y-citizen/

[matt.wu]

Wow. I like Citizen, so it'll be interesting to see what happens here with the intermingling of Swiss and Japanese. Granted, there are plenty of examples of this already with Swiss and German brands (like Lange with Richemont or GO with Swatch).

[CGSshorty]

I don't think people realize what a power Citizen is.

[hoppyjr]

As smaller Swiss brands sink I wouldn't be surprised to see more of this.

Didn't a Chinese company buy Eterna not long ago?

[r.palace]

This is great for Citizen. One of my favorite brands for sure

[Steve O.]

First Bulova, now Frederique Constant. I read an interview with the CEO of Citizen not long ago, in which he stated that one of their primary goals is to move upmarket. Part of that strategy is acquiring Swiss brands.

The list of family owned Swiss brands continues to dwindle. Not long ago, Ulysse Nardin was bought by a French holding company, and I believe that there are other smaller brands that have recently been sold to large parent companies. Patek Philippe has been owned by the Stern family since 1932 and from what I understand, they intend to stay that way.

[Panerai7]

Great news for Alpina
Maybe more automatic watches with 901?5

[outtatime]

Interesting. FC has got to be the only watch company where the CEO will respond to a WTB thread on WUS and get you hooked up with what you're looking for. And, even beyond that, actually continue a conversation with you.

[Jeep99dad]

I think it's cool. I like both companies.
I look forward to see what these two brands coming together put out for us.

[Joeprez]

I read it from Hodinkee, Ben and John were discussing how awesome they are for receiving the news first. A "jerk circle" followed.

[Steve O.]

I read it from Hodinkee, Ben and John were discussing how awesome they are for receiving the news first. A "jerk circle" followed.

Good one.

[slashd0t]

Citizen needs to move up market fast.. They are going to be consumed by smart watches in the next 5-10 years.

[BBK357]

Oh cool citizen..... That one brand that Seiko over shadows.

Never owned one

[afc14284]

This is something really good for both companies hopefully Alpina will keep its brand and identity intact throughout all this changes although I wouldn't mind a Diver Extreme with Eco Drive technology in the future.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

[dnslater]

Oh cool citizen..... That one brand that Seiko over shadows.

Never owned one

True for watch enthusiasts, but Citizen is a bigger company.

[jimyritz]

I think this is very interesting especially in respect to watch movements...
Remember when Tag "leveraged" Seiko....



Mike

[Ryeguy]

Oh cool citizen..... That one brand that Seiko over shadows.

Never owned one

True for watch enthusiasts, but Citizen is a bigger company.

I've not looked at either company's financials, but as Seiko is owned by Epson, I suspect Seiko is technically the larger company. If you are just speaking about the revenue generated from watches, then you might be correct.

[hazmatman]

I don't think people realize what a power Citizen is.

All across the globe, most unrealized power lies with the Citizen.

[TimelessLuxWatches]

FC is actually Citizen's third Swiss watch company. They bought LJP (a movement maker/modifier) and LJP's subsidiary, Arnold and Son, not long ago.

You can find LJP Swiss movements in Citizen Campanola now.

Regarding the size of the brands, Citizen is arguably the larger watchmaker. This is due, in large part, to their very successful Miyota movement division and to Bulova. Seiko does dominate the luxury segment though.

Seiko is a bigger company overall. Japanese corporate structuring is very confusing to Western businessmen and lawyers, where we see several different corporations and assume that they're actually separate. They often have the exact same board of directors and same major shareholders, and operate together as a subtle zaibatsu. Seiko, itself sometimes thought of as a zaibatsu, operates this way.

In reality, all of these different companies are probably operated either openly or quietly under the Hattori family and friends of the Hattori family. This is true even though some Seiko corporations are publicly traded (the people behind the company are still dominant shareholders who steer the corporation).

Seiko is a larger company, but that's because they produce everything. Golf clubs, printers, glasses etc.

As per Seiko Epson, it's not that Epson bought Seiko, it's that Epson, a Seiko product, just became so famous that two different Seiko subsidiaries were merged into the Epson brand name. The Epson was Seiko's first commercially available electronic printer. The name is a joke, a play on the EP101, the first compact electronic printer that was created by Seiko for the Tokyo Olympics. Epson is literally the "Son of EP one oh one", as in the sequel. EP, of course, is just electronic printer.

Focusing on Citizen and Frederique Constant, I think it'll be good for the brand. Citizen has very deep pockets and has so far managed to give their subsidiaries plenty of independence while also expanding their R&D greatly. Citizen could have just "taken" the Precisionist movement for their Citizen line, or shared them, but they allowed Bulova to focus on that and make it their own for the strength of their subsidiary.

So I'm actually pleased with this acquisition.

[dnslater]

Oh cool citizen..... That one brand that Seiko over shadows.

Never owned one

True for watch enthusiasts, but Citizen is a bigger company.

I've not looked at either company's financials, but as Seiko is owned by Epson, I suspect Seiko is technically the larger company. If you are just speaking about the revenue generated from watches, then you might be correct.

I based it on Wikipedia for both parent companies. Included subsidiaries such as Epson, but the numbers were old. I think Seiko owns Epson, not the other way around.

[Sidheguitarist]

FC is actually Citizen's third Swiss watch company. They bought LJP (a movement maker/modifier) and LJP's subsidiary, Arnold and Son, not long ago...
[a bunch of cool info]
So I'm actually pleased with this acquisition.

Good stuff, thanks a ton for posting that.

[dnslater]

FC is actually Citizen's third Swiss watch company. They bought LJP (a movement maker/modifier) and LJP's subsidiary, Arnold and Son, not long ago.

You can find LJP Swiss movements in Citizen Campanola now.

Regarding the size of the brands, Citizen is arguably the larger watchmaker. This is due, in large part, to their very successful Miyota movement division and to Bulova. Seiko does dominate the luxury segment though.

Seiko is a bigger company overall. Japanese corporate structuring is very confusing to Western businessmen and lawyers, where we see several different corporations and assume that they're actually separate. They often have the exact same board of directors and same major shareholders, and operate together as a subtle zaibatsu. Seiko, itself sometimes thought of as a zaibatsu, operates this way.

In reality, all of these different companies are probably operated either openly or quietly under the Hattori family and friends of the Hattori family. This is true even though some Seiko corporations are publicly traded (the people behind the company are still dominant shareholders who steer the corporation).

Seiko is a larger company, but that's because they produce everything. Golf clubs, printers, glasses etc.

As per Seiko Epson, it's not that Epson bought Seiko, it's that Epson, a Seiko product, just became so famous that two different Seiko subsidiaries were merged into the Epson brand name. The Epson was Seiko's first commercially available electronic printer. The name is a joke, a play on the EP101, the first compact electronic printer that was created by Seiko for the Tokyo Olympics. Epson is literally the "Son of EP one oh one", as in the sequel. EP, of course, is just electronic printer.

Focusing on Citizen and Frederique Constant, I think it'll be good for the brand. Citizen has very deep pockets and has so far managed to give their subsidiaries plenty of independence while also expanding their R&D greatly. Citizen could have just "taken" the Precisionist movement for their Citizen line, or shared them, but they allowed Bulova to focus on that and make it their own for the strength of their subsidiary.

So I'm actually pleased with this acquisition.

Fantastic info - Thanks! This helps explain why there is not updated revenue information for the companies on the net.

[diver]

cool. great manufacturing company , with strong backing, laced with a swiss brand already known to make quality products and an affordable price. can't go wrong.

[GregBe]

Interesting. FC has got to be the only watch company where the CEO will respond to a WTB thread on WUS and get you hooked up with what you're looking for. And, even beyond that, actually continue a conversation with you.

That is fascinating. Was that you? Would love to hear more.