The historic director of Patek Philippe Spain is retiring and will leave the firm in 2022.

Vergotti is a veteran of luxury watchmaking both inside and outside the Iberian Peninsula, with a career of almost 30 years in this sector. Previously, he worked at the former Vendôme (forerunner of Richemont), the Swatch Group and the Bovet atelier.

The executive took the reins of the subsidiary, established in 1998 in Barcelona, after a first stage of landing the brand in Spain, consolidating ties with distributors, retailers and customers. Under his mandate, Patek Philippe opened its first approved workshop in the country in 2016.

His retirement will come after five months of transition after Patek Philippe has hired Mario Giménez, until now Panerai’s general manager. The departure of Giménez from the group, advanced by ‘Modaes’, leaves vacant in Spain the leadership of the luxury watch brand.

Giménez had been with Richemont for 10 years, having previously been general manager of Pedro del Hierro (of Cortefiel) and commercial director at Loewe (of the LVMH group), among other positions.

Patek Philippe, managed from Switzerland by Thierry Stern (part of the family that owns the company), has about 16 employees in Spain. The company closed 2020 with a 14% increase in revenue to 70 million euros, although net income fell by 22% to 4.9 million euros. These are very different figures from those Vergotti encountered when he arrived. In 2007, the company had recorded revenues of 18 million euros and profits of 50,139 euros, according to the accounts filed at that time with the Commercial Registry.