Rolex is reportedly moving to clean up management and sales operations at Bucherer, the Swiss jewellery and watch retailer it acquired three years ago, after a series of departures at the group’s flagship Lucerne store.
Several long-serving sales staff have left Bucherer’s store on Lucerne’s Schwanenplatz following the dismissal of the store’s managing director, a local financial blog reported. The departures are significant because, according to an unnamed insider, those staff together generated 10–15% of the flagship store’s annual revenue.
The report places chief executive Guido Zumbühl at the centre of the scrutiny. Zumbühl has led Bucherer since 2009 and is described as holding unusually broad power within the group.
The Lucerne flagship store had a special reporting line directly to the CEO rather than through Bucherer’s global or country sales structure. The report says Zumbühl personally brought in the store’s former head, giving the Schwanenplatz outlet an exceptional status within the group.
Allegedly, the private family events were held in the Lucerne store and that Rolex watches were sold to trusted customers by bypassing the normal waiting list.
Zumbühl’s executive team long included only one woman: chief financial officer Emmi Weber. Apparently, Zumbühl blamed Weber for problems surrounding a global IT rollout and other unresolved issues. Weber was elected to Bucherer’s board last year.
Bucherer declined to comment on personnel matters, citing privacy protections, and did not respond to questions about the alleged revenue impact.
Rolex’s Quiet Restructuring
Rolex bought Bucherer in 2023 for an undisclosed sum, with earlier speculation valuing the deal at CHF 4–5 billion.
The report says the recent departures are being linked internally to Rolex, although neither Rolex nor Bucherer has confirmed that. It also says a whistleblower raised serious allegations against Bucherer figures in 2024, and that one person implicated has since left the company.
If the reported departures are confirmed, will the challenge be to restore stability at Bucherer’s most important Swiss location without damaging client relationships or sales momentum?
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