Longines: Interview with Walter von Känel, President of Longines

Walter von Känel joined Longines in 1969, since 1988 he is the President of the brand belonging to Swatch Group. He is one of the most respected and charismatic leaders of the industry. It simply is a pleasure to talk to him …

I met Walter von Känel during the legendary Streif-Downhill from the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel / Tirol in Austria.

Longines is the official timekeeper of the Alpine Skiing Worldcup and was of course also responsible for the timekeeping and the data handling of all the results in Kitzbühel.

When Walter von Känel speaks you can always learn something. Whatever he touches virtually becomes gold. Longines today is the absolute leader of the middle price segment and one of the most successful companies of the Swatch Group.

Insiders estimate that Longines made a turnover of 1.5 billion Swiss Francs in 2014. I estimate the same and I estimate that the result for 2015 was at least the same, even under these difficult circumstances and the negative impact of the so strong Swiss Franc …

This is what makes the brand unbeatable: Longines never left its segment, Longines always focused on its price range and Longines always delivered watches in an incredible price-quality-ratio …

This was the 47,5 mm Longines on Walter von Känel´s wrist. He talks about it in the interview …