How Parmigiani Fleurier tripled sales with the covetable Tonda line: the luxury Swiss brand went from obscure to well-known for its red-hot sports watches thanks to CEO Guido Terreni

May 10 , 2023

Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda PF collection is the brand’s take on the luxury sports watch. Photos: Parmigiani Fleurier

Terreni, former president of horology at LVMH-owned Bulgari, put Parmigiani Fleurier in the spotlight alongside Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Girard-Perregaux

Within six months of taking over as CEO at PF, Terreni refocused the brand on just one line – the Tonda PF – and now waiting lists stretch for more than a year

When Guido Terreni took over as chief executive officer of Parmigiani Fleurier in early 2021, the Swiss watch brand was a well-respected if somewhat obscure maker of high horology – complicated timepieces coveted by a small group of collectors and enthusiasts.

Not any more.

Guido Terreni, CEO of Swiss watchmaker Parmigiani Fleurier.

Under Terreni’s leadership, Parmigiani Fleurier has leapt into the spotlight to join the likes of Girard-Perregaux, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe in producing luxury Swiss sports watches with demand far outstripping supply. Sales tripled and production doubled after the Milan-born executive refocused the brand on just one watch line – the now red-hot Tonda PF.

The former president of horology at LVMH-owned Bulgari, Terreni redesigned and relaunched the Tonda within half a year of taking over as CEO. Prices for the integrated-bracelet sports watch start at about 22,000 francs (US$24,655) for a simple time-only steel model. They go as high as about 163,000 francs for a flying tourbillon with a platinum case. Waiting lists now stretch more than a year.

Parmigiani Fleurier newly presented the Tonda Automatic with diamonds.

Terreni credits the brand’s independence with giving him the ability to move quickly to change its focus. Parmigiani Fleurier is owned by the foundation of the Sandoz family, which set up the company that has evolved into drug maker Novartis SA.

“It’s given us the freedom to have a very short decision process because I have the freedom to do what I want,” Terreni said in an interview at the recent Watches and Wonders fair in Geneva. “This is very important because that’s how you keep pure the idea of what you want to do.”

The redesigned Tonda collection now accounts for about 98 per cent of the brand’s sales, according to Terreni. He wouldn’t provide specific sales numbers and said the brand now produces “a few thousand” watches a year, without being more specific.

It takes great skill to manufacture a Parmigiani Fleurier creation.

Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Vontobel, estimates Parmigiani makes about 3,000 watches annually, with sales of about 100 million francs.