Junghans boss Steim in an interview: “Many brands have failed with higher prices”

Interview with Junghans boss Steim
“Many brands have failed with higher prices”

6/2/2023, 6:28 p.m

The traditional German watch brand Junghans wants to conquer the growing market with simple products – and at the same time remain affordable. In the podcast “The Zero Hour”, Managing Director Steim explains how the company manages to do this.

They were once the largest watch manufacturer in the world. The Junghans company from the Black Forest has a history behind it that only a few companies in the industry can boast of. Rise around the turn of the century, first quartz watches in Germany, bankruptcy and a new beginning.

Today, Junghans is back to mechanical watches, which have become a status symbol for young people in recent years. “We notice that there is a renaissance in mechanical movements,” says Hannes Steim, managing partner of the company, in the podcast “The hour zero”.

However, the movements today usually come from Switzerland, and Steim has so far ruled out in-house production. “If we make our own calibres, that means high development costs,” he says. “Then you have a jump in price that cannot be communicated.” From Steim’s point of view, this is a danger for a company whose customers are more used to a middle price segment: “Many brands have failed with higher prices.”

With its international expansion, Junghans is primarily focusing on fans of the restrained design that the brand specializes in. An advantage: The business in Russia, where particularly large and eye-catching watches are popular, never played a role for Junghans – and could not disappear after the beginning of the war.

Listen in the new episode of “The Zero Hour“:

• Why the Japanese love radio controlled clocks
• What happens to old Junghans movements
• Which is why Hannes Steim doesn’t think much of influencers

All episodes can be found directly at RTL+, Apple or Spotify or via Google.