Chanel takes 25% ownership stake in MB&F

Russell Sheldrake

MB&F just announced that Chanel has taken a 25% ownership stake in the independent watchmaker. This minority ownership still leaves Max Büsser as the majority owner with 60% and his business partner, Serge Kriknoff, who is head of R&D and Production owning 15%. The company has stated that the investment “ensures stability and resilience” for the avant-garde watchmaker.

This is not the first time Chanel has made such an investment, having bought a 20% stake in F.P. Journe in 2018 and a minority ownership of Romain Gauthier in 2011 and Bell & Ross in 1998. These companies remained independently operated after the Chanel investment, which leads us to believe the same will be true here, despite the luxury house owning a quarter of the watchmaker.

This also comes off the back of De Bethune, another highly creative watchmaker, having a majority stake bought by WatchBox in 2021. It seems that as these independent watchmakers grow to a certain size, it becomes impossible to continue operating without a certain level of outside investment and ownership. Whether this will become a permanent state of affairs is yet to be seen, but it is clear that the investment made in F.P. Journe six years ago has worked well for the watchmaker, having expanded its retail network and increased its revenue pretty much year on year.

This news is also perfectly timed as we are exactly one week out from Geneva Watch Days where MB&F has been one of the major players since it started. The brand will surely announce new models alongside many others who will welcome the world’s press to Geneva for a few days as a mid-year stop-gap between the annual Watches & Wonders.

Max Büsser had this to say about the investment, “it was our responsibility, in today’s very favourable context and with our management team in its prime, to take this major step to ensure our long-term future – a natural evolution for a company celebrating its 20th anniversary next year. In addition to allowing us to pursue our independent path, free of any pressure on growth, the investment by Chanel will strengthen our operations by providing access when needed to their wider ecosystem and network of specialized suppliers”.

According to MB&F, they have had a longstanding relationship with Chanel and the various watchmaking brands they partially own. One of the very first suppliers, or “Friends” as they like to call them, that the brand used was G&F Châtelain who made cases and buckles for them in the early days, and in 1993 Chanel purchased the entirety of G&F Châtelain.

MB&F began looking at various options to “secure their longterm future” a few years ago and thanks to the connection through the case and buckle maker, casual conversations with Chanel began organically. These casual talks lasted for about two years and have now culminated in this minority ownership.