Luxury watchmaker Rolex SA will build three temporary production facilities that will start producing luxury watches in 2025 to meet unprecedented demand for its products.
Construction of the Fribourg facility will begin later this year, Rolex said in an email. The capacity is in line with plans to spend 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.1 billion) on a new major production site in Bulle, also in Fribourg, which is expected to start operating in 2029.
Currently, the company’s authorized network is not providing new watch purchases. It is encouraging dealers, such as Watches of Switzerland Group Plc, to use a waiting list of buyers. That has led to a spike in secondary market prices for popular models, such as the Daytona Cosmograph, which is trading well above retail.
Rolex executives said work on the 9,000-square-meter facility in Romont, Switzerland, will begin in the second half of 2023, with production expected to begin in 2025.
It will also have a temporary facility at the Vivier SA industrial park in Villaz-Saint-Pierre, Switzerland, that will start operating in 2024, as well as a recruitment center in Bulle.
Rolex said the production line and hiring will be done in phases, with the number of employees expected to reach 250 to 300, most of whom will be new hires. Workers will be trained in Romont before being transferred to Bulle once the site is ready.
“The new production site in Bulle, like these three temporary installations, will allow Rolex to expand its production capacity, support growth and meet growing demand,” the company said.
Rolex produces about 1 million watches a year and generates sales of about 8 billion Swiss francs, according to Morgan Stanley estimates.