Swatch Group opposes possible withdrawal from the stock exchange

Swatch Group opposes possible withdrawal from the stock exchange

Nick Hayek himself has repeatedly flirted with the idea of delisting the watch company. He has also never made a secret of the fact that he does not like the shares business.

This is evidenced by statements such as this to the Swiss business newspaper Handelszeitung: "The stock market is and remains to a large extent a casino that thrives on rumours and is incredibly short-term oriented."

In September last year - after a more or less constant downturn in the Group's share price - he gave another interview to the Handelszeitung, which also dealt with a possible withdrawal from the stock market.

In response to the interviewer's comment that the Swatch Group is a family company par excellence and that it would be an unrivalled legacy to return it entirely to the family, he says: "Legacy is not the issue. But yes, we are thinking about what we can do."

"You can't help but think that the Swatch Group CEO also takes a little pleasure in creating and leaving ambiguities. Especially when it comes to the stock market, which he so dislikes."

Antje Heepmann (watch journalist)

Yesterday, on the occasion of the publication of the less than pleasing Annual Report 2024 (the figures had already been announced at the end of January) found clearer words on the subject of the stock market.

He told the news agency AWP: "If we leave the stock market, it means that we have to take on debt as a family. And we don't like debt at all." Hayek argued that this would destroy the company's independence.

So it is still just a "partnership of convenience" with the stock exchange. "People think that if someone doesn't want to play by the rules of the stock exchange, then they shouldn't be on the stock exchange any more. And we say: no, we can certainly be on the stock exchange - but we'll keep our culture, our identity."

This is also being done for the almost 30,000 shareholders, employees and customers of the Swatch Group, Nick Hayek emphasised to AWP: "These shareholders identify with our culture. Above all, we work for our employees and for our customers."

Speaking of the Hayek family, which Group CEO Hayek says he wants to protect from debt and which is the main shareholder of the Swatch Group and holds over 40 per cent of the voting rights via registered and bearer shares.

Nick Hayek, who has been Chief Executive Officer of the Swatch Group since 2003 and a member of the Board of Directors since 2010, is 70 years old - but a successor has not yet been officially named. Nicolas George Hayek, his father and founder of the Swatch Group, died unexpectedly at the age of 82 of heart failure at his company in Biel.

Asked when he would step down as CEO, he said: "I don't know. They already want to get rid of me." However, the Swatch Group Board of Directors would of course know exactly what to do when the time comes.

Moreover, important positions have already been filled by family members. Marc Hayek, son of his sister and Swatch Group President Nayla Hayek, is represented on both the Board of Directors and the Executive Board.