Festina
Festina is a Swiss watch brand. In 1985, businessman Miguel Rodríguez acquired Festina, a brand founded in Switzerland in 1902, thus forming the Festina-Lotus group.
History
Festina was created in 1902 by the Stüdi family in the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds, in Switzerland. In 1935 the founding-family transmitted the brand to businessman, Willy Burkhard von Wilhelm.
During World War II, the company was established in Barcelona, Spain. In 1975, Georges Uhlmann, an entrepreneur who had a significant presence in the Spanish and Italian markets, acquired the firm. In 1984, the Spanish businessman Miguel Rodríguez, from La Linea de la Concepción (Cadiz), acquired the Festina brand and all its rights.
The Festina brand derived from the Latin "Festina lente" which means: "Make haste, slowly", a phrase that according to Roman historian, Suetonius, is attributed to Augustus Caesar, known for his prudence: "Walk slowly, if you want to arrive at a well-done job, sooner".
Within the Festina Group the brands Jaguar, Candino and Perrelet are Swiss-made. In 2002, Festina acquired the Swiss watch brand Candino. In 2004, Festina acquired the luxury watch brand, Perrelet, founded in 1777 by the prestigious watchmaker Abraham-Louis Perrelet.
In 1992 Festina became the official Timekeeper of the Tour de France until 2016, staying for decades closely linked to the world of cycling as a sponsor / timekeeper of the most important events of the cycling agenda (Tour of Spain, Tour of Britain, etc).
After twenty-five years sponsoring the Tour de France and other sports competitions, Festina in 2016 acquired actor, Gerard Butler, as ambassador of brand and image of its campaigns worldwide thus moving its brand positioning towards the Lifestyle territory, for the first time together with a prestigious international cinematographic face.
Festina Group
With more than 30 years of history, Festina Group is today an international company specialized in the production and commercialization of commercial price range watches and precision parts.
The Group currently manufactures five different brands of watches for the general market (Calypso, Lotus, Festina, Jaguar and Candino) and two jewelry brands (Lotus Style and Lotus Silver), to satisfy the demands of a wide range of public.
The Group's headquarters is located in Barcelona, while the main production centers, owned by the Group, are located in Switzerland and Spain. Today the Group, which has seven subsidiaries (France, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland and Chile) is present in more than 90 countries on five continents with more than 5 million watches sold per year.
References
- Soprod company website Archived 2014-02-28 at the Wayback Machine
