Bremont, the UK-based luxury watch brand, has announced the appointment of Davide Cerrato as its new CEO. Cerrato is a well-known industry executive who is credited with the successful relaunch of Tudor Black Bay, a sister brand of Rolex SA, for the international market over a decade ago. He was responsible for the creation of Tudor's most successful line, the Black Bay, as head of marketing and product development.
Bremont is the largest independent maker of luxury watches in the UK, and the hiring of Cerrato is seen as a significant move to bolster the company's growth ambitions as it looks to compete with long-established Swiss brands and revive watchmaking in the UK. Bremont has been producing around 10,000 watches annually over the past two decades and has recently opened its own manufacturing facility, which is capable of producing in-house movements.
The brand, however, is currently unprofitable, according to its most recent UK regulatory filings. The investment from activist investor Bill Ackman and existing majority shareholder Hellcat LP in January 2021, worth £48.4 million ($60.5 million), was aimed at expanding Bremont's aviation and military-inspired watches in the US market.
Cerrato previously headed the watch division at Richemont's Montblanc and was most recently CEO and creative director of Swiss brand HYT. Ackman praised Cerrato's credentials, saying, "Davide is a proven world-class executive who has spent his career leading successful transformations of watch brands and designing some of today's most iconic watches."
The appointment of Cerrato is expected to bring fresh impetus to Bremont's growth strategy, and the brand will be hoping that his expertise in watch design and product development will help to elevate its position in the luxury watch market.