When Georges Kern, CEO of Breitling, first began visiting Cape Town years ago — often for cycling races, one of his passions — he couldn’t help but wonder why the brand wasn’t present at the V&A Waterfront.
“I’ve seen that location for many years,” he recalls. “And I always asked the question: why are we not at the Waterfront?”
That question has now been answered emphatically with the opening of Breitling’s boutique in one of Africa’s most visited luxury destinations. “It took time for all of us to align that we needed a location here,” Georges continues. “But I learned today about the incredible number of 5-star hotels coming, the cruise ships, the extension of the Waterfront… It’s going to be incredible. I’ve never seen the mall as lively and busy as it is now.”
The new boutique occupies a space Georges admits “isn’t a traditional retail location.” But that’s precisely the point. “We basically told the landlord, ‘Why don’t we put a boutique here?’ And they said ‘yes’,” he laughs. “It’s a great location because it’s extremely visible, there’s great traffic, and we’re a casual lifestyle brand. We fit very well in markets like South Africa, the UK, the US, and Australia. It works. And we’re at a price point where we can reach out to a vast consumer base in South Africa.”
South Africa’s Distinct Strength
While Johannesburg has long been home to Breitling’s South African presence, Cape Town’s new boutique is already outpacing expectations. “It’s doing almost a little bit better than Johannesburg,” Georges admits.
For Georges, South Africa represents far more than just another market on the global map. “I have a history with South Africa,” he says. “I worked for 17 years for a South African group, and I’ve been travelling here all the time. So, I have an emotional attachment and knowledge of the country.”
Rather than focusing on size or scale alone, Georges looks at the South African market through a lens of optimisation and potential. “You don’t look at countries purely in terms of size; otherwise, you might only focus on the US and China,” he explains. “You need to look at the best setup to optimise your sales — and that’s what we’re doing here. We have the same quality of distribution in South Africa as we have in France or Germany. The boutique has the same products as Madison Avenue in New York.”
Creating Impact Through Boutiques
The Cape Town opening emphasises Breitling’s commitment to its boutique strategy — a global network of immersive retail spaces designed to express the brand’s full personality.
Today, Breitling operates more than 280 boutiques worldwide, roughly one-third company-owned and the rest operated by retail partners. “The consumer doesn’t see the difference,” Georges says. “It’s the same experience. But we always want to have the right balance between impactful retail business and meaningful wholesale.”
Modern Retro: The Breitling Aesthetic
Step inside the new boutique and you’re immediately struck by its distinctive design language — an industrial-chic space defined by exposed brick, leather, and steel detailing. Georges calls it “modern retro”, a concept that runs through every facet of Breitling’s brand identity.
“It’s our product concept, but also our communication concept,” he explains. “We have an anchor in the past, but we’re a modern brand. The brick wall is something from the industrial age at the beginning of the last century — it will never age. It has a clear identity, and you don’t have to renovate it every few years. That’s the biggest advantage.”
The aesthetic also reflects Breitling’s lifestyle universe — a space defined by sport, adventure, and authenticity. “We’re in surfing, triathlon, rugby (Six Nations) — not golf or tennis, which wouldn’t fit our brand,” Georges says. “Our image as the cool alternative to the more conservative watch brands fits perfectly in the South African market. It’s an outdoor culture, just like us.”
Exclusive, Yet Accessible
The boutique will also serve as a gateway for South African clients to access Breitling’s full global offering, including boutique-exclusive editions. “They will have access to boutique exclusivities,” Georges confirms, “and the latest launches like the Lady Premier. We might even launch a South African limited edition — we don’t know yet — but everything available globally will also be available here.”
That inclusivity extends beyond product to the very essence of Breitling’s philosophy. “I never liked the word ‘exclusivity’ because it excludes people,” Georges says. “We want to include — through sports, through our ambassadors, through our tone. Of course, we’re exclusive in terms of price and distribution, but as a brand, we want to be approachable.”
It’s a positioning that’s been core to Breitling’s renaissance under Georges: bold, colourful, slightly irreverent, and always authentic. “Building a brand is very difficult. It’s very intuitive,” he says. “There’s no cookbook that teaches you how to cook — it either tastes good, or it doesn’t. In our case, I think it tastes good. In the bigger picture, from pilots to surfers, Breitling is known to celebrate what we call a wide lifestyle universe.”
A Confident Future
Looking ahead, Breitling’s focus will be on deepening its core collections rather than multiplying them. “At a certain stage, you need to iconise your products — like the Navitimer and the Chronomat — and we’re doing that,” Georges says. “And you always improve designs and technology, just like in the car industry. Every few years, you have a new cycle of the same car being reimagined.”
The brand’s in-house movements — including the recent introduction of the B31 automatic into the Top Time line — pave the way for further development. “Based on these base movements, we’re going to build more complications,” Georges reveals. “GMTs and other useful functions — but not going into high-end watchmaking. That’s not our field. We’ll stay in our price point, let’s say between $5 000 and $30 000, where we can keep growing our client base.”
For Georges, Cape Town’s new boutique is both a milestone and a metaphor — a meeting point between precision and passion, heritage and modernity. “The Waterfront reflects everything we stand for,” he says. “Energy, visibility, accessibility, and lifestyle. It’s a place where people live the Breitling way — outdoors, confident, and connected to the world.”
