Consumer
Swatch’s Raucous Analyst Call Pits CEO Hayek Against Investors
- Swiss company was questioned on lack of shareholder engagement
- Swatch counters that the group ‘sells watches, not shares’
Nick Hayek
Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Swatch Group is hitting back at investors who’ve called out the firm for its governance and management practices, accusing them of seeking privileged information from a company that argues it’s in the business of selling “watches, not shares.”
The Swiss watchmaker told Bloomberg that investors who complained about its level of disclosure on a heated call Tuesday did so because they want “confidential information just for themselves,” saying, “that’s an absolute no-go for us.”