"It’s not that we are continuing to bask in France’s World Cup glory – but there is no getting away from the fact that we have had a good year too."

If Jean-Claude Herbelin, managing director of Michel Herbelin Ltd, seems to be in fine form and bears a contented grin on his face, then it is likely that he has good reason. And although quick to scoff at the notion that he might well be the Zenadine Zidane of the French watch trade, he has undoubtedly had a remarkable year all the same – a year in which he has scored more than the odd winning goal. Sales for 1998 are up by almost 9% - a figure wholly in keeping with the company’s performance during the last five years, which has seen consistent and steady growth. That’s not bad going for a country which, if one is to believe the economic experts and analysts, is meant to be slower in emerging from recession than any of its European neighbours. Herbelin was also recently elected president of the French Chamber of the Watch and Clock Industry and Microtechnique (CFHM), succeeding Michel Bezin (who did not seek re-election) and as such is uniquely placed to speak up for the trade as a whole.

Running a company with an annual turnover of FFr 120 million, Herbelin is at the forefront of a continuing campaign to re-launch the industry to the go-getting days of the mid-1980s, energetically embarking on a series of speaking tours around France’s different departments, generating publicity whenever and wherever he can. The same is true in terms of publicising his own products – a significant slice of the annual budget is earmarked for advertising campaigns in the trade press as well as promotional supports of which distributing clients can be enthusiastic and proud.

Based in his Charquement headquarters in the Haut-Daubs – just a stone’s throw from the Swiss border and thus at the heart of the European watch and clock industry - he has 85 people on the payroll, in addition to providing work for an additional one thousand individuals through suppliers and subcontracting. The company has forged itself into an enviable position in France – it is now the undisputed market leader in the medium to high £200-£500 price range – with over 1 in 4 watches sold within the HBJO (France’s Retail Jewellery organisation) bearing the Michel Herbelin brand. Altogether 60,000 timepieces are shifted in France each and every year. Herbelin is reluctant to be pushed as to which age group he might have in mind "it can be anything from a young man’s communion present right through to a retirement gift", he explains.

"That is why we are convinced that we exports are the key to the future", the dapper and moustachioed Herbelin continues. "Merely maintaining our position in France is difficult – and the truth is that it is unlikely that we will significantly increase our domestic market share. The answer for us is undoubtedly in exports and international trade, even though this already accounts for half of our business. Because here there is no such limitation. "

Herbelin is quick to point out that in France many prestigious couturiers have jumped onto the watch-making bandwagon – Chanel, Dior, St. Laurent and Hermès - to name but a few. Products which are immediately attractive to the marque conscious French. And although all of Herbelin’s movements are imported from Switzerland, the company cannot boast that its watches are Swiss made, at least in their entirety, because they are not. Not that prioritising exports is anything new for Jean-Claude Herbelin, for ever since he began working for the company founded by his father back in 1947, he has looked firmly and consistently beyond France’s own borders. The company’s main markets are Germany (16%), South Africa (15%), Austria 12.5%), Great Britain (10.2%) and Singapore (4.3%) figures which, we are assured, are going to increase significantly in the years ahead.

It was in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War that Jean-Claude’s father Michel Herbelin set up shop – creating his first watches that successfully blended elegant aesthetics and precision timing – a tradition that continues to this day. In a world in which mergers and acquisitions are often the order of the day, Jean-Claude was determined to maintain the independence and autonomy of his family’s firm – and having done so successfully ensures that he is able to continue to impose his twin briefs of good time keeping with elegance and reliability.

Herbelin hastily outlines his firm’s commercial strategy – highly trained business staff; a boutique in the Marais district in the heart of the Paris watch trade which facilitates contacts with the trade and contributes to the brand’s prestige; regular advertising campaigns in the trade press, active participation in the major international fairs, including and especially that at Basel and prioritising customer service. Five stylists work at the design of products and evolution of collections – and the results are plain for all to see. The company’s classic Newport (born in 1987 and the brand’s flagship product ever since) has been re-launched in a new polished steel version; the Newport 98 Chronometer ("fine lines and muscles of steel", crows Herbelin) and two elegant bracelet watches with a distinctly African theme. Both suppliers and subcontractors alike are put through their paces by Herbelin – obliged as they are to undergo the strictest of selection processes, before being challenged to meet the the most rigorous of specifications. Nor is Herbelin any the less demanding on his own employees – for no less than 55 in-depth controls are carried out during the production cycle of Michel Herbelin watches.

Jean-Claude Herbelin first went to work with his father in 1972 and any reservations about the wisdom of father and son working together were quickly put to one side. From the outset he embarked upon his strategy of developing the creativity of the brand – and looking out towards the wider world. A twin-track strategy which has to be described as a success, in that the company’s products can now be purchased in over 50 countries on the 5 continents, with Michel Herbelin outlets up and running in both Germany and the United States.

"Of course I am confident for the year ahead", Herbelin concludes. "We have every reason to be - both for our company in particular and for the trade as a whole. I am convinced that the introduction of the Euro will have a positive knock-on effect here. During the last quarter of 1998 there were signs of sales tapering off in the run-in to Christmas – and yet we have still managed to finish the year almost 10% up. Give the customer what he wants – that’s what I say – quality, French flair, style and reliability – and the customer will respond accordingly. That was true in my father’s day. It is true in mine. And whilst it is never prudent to look too far ahead into the future, I am confident that one day future generations of Herbelins will be able to report back precisely the same findings."