WATCHPRO Germany-based POINTtec is drawing attention to its bestselling Bauhaus pilot watches Bauhaus is one of three brands in the POINTtec stable 2024 saw Bauhaus introduce Tornado watches which take their name and design inspiration from the famous fighter jet thanks to a licensing agreement with the plane’s manufacturer This year Bauhaus is adding an automatic chronograph to the Tornado collection in addition to a new generation of Eurofighter watches also produced under an official license deal POINTtec has been the custodian of a watchmaking facility in Thuringia that was once the base of Uhrenwerke Ruhla which brought mass production to pocket watches in the late 19th century POINTtec established the Bauhaus watch brand in 2020 with timepieces designed in the style and spirit of the Bauhaus design school in Dessau In addition to the famous “form follows function” minimalism they also pay homage to the colourful phase of the Bauhaus movement The new watches are an extension of the Bauhaus Aviation collection that launched in 2024 which was made to mark the 50th anniversary of the jet It was made possible through a new licensing agreement which was added to similar agreements for Eurofighter and AWACS aircraft with POINTtec Flight Control and G38 series watches are now also sold under the Bauhaus Aviation name Other existing Bauhaus watches will now become the Classic series several European countries were looking to replace the outdated aircraft for their respective air forces a core group of nations emerged who entered into a joint development project: Germany Italy and the United Kingdom founded Panavia Aircraft GmbH in 1969 with headquarters in Hallbergmoos near Munich Development of the “Multi Role Combat Aircraft” – as it was called then before becoming the “Tornado” – started one year later The first flight took place on 14 August 1974 laying the groundwork for one of the most successful aircraft projects in recent decades Thanks to the variable-sweep wings that can be swept back for high-speed flight the Tornado was capable of starting with a heavy load as well as reaching a top speed of mach 2.2 – much faster than its modern successor Pointtec has just moved its watch assembly and headquarters to the historic German watchmaking town of Ruhla Ruhla is a rural town of around 6,000 people in the centre of Germany and just 185 miles west of its Glashütte the country’s most famous watchmaking centre it has a long history of watchmaking and and endured the turbulence of life in Eastern Germany on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain after World War II Ruhla’s watchmaking story began in the 1870s when brothers Christian and George Thiel started making music boxes and later clocks By the late 1880s the company had developed a movement with a 12 hour power reserve that was mainly exported to America was the first in Germany to produce a usable and cheap pocket watch and by 1897 4000 pieces per day were being produced mainly for export to America Mass production was helped by the company developing and manufacturing its own watchmaking machinery some of which can still be seen today at the Ruhla Watch and Clock museum located today on the ground floor of Pointtec’s headquarters Thiel continued to expand through to the beginning of the World War I when the company turned its production to national defence and returned to successfully make civilian timekeepers between the wars and into World War II When the Soviet Union took over Eastern Europe Thiel became an instrument of the communist state and renamed VEB Clock and Engine works Ruhla Later the works became the Uhren und Maschinenfabrik Ruhla – hence UMF seen on earlier watch dials Ruhla continued to develop and manufacture a range of timekeeping instruments including wristwatches chess clocks as well as heavier machinery such as milling machines It later moved into electro-mechanical watches precursors for quartz pieces that started to be made in the 1970s the Ruhla clock works manufactured many hundreds of millions of clock movements of different calibres but the town has seen its output dwindle to almost nothing until Pointtec decided to buy a listed building from the heyday of UMF and move its assembly line there WATCHPRO USA Time to Watches takes place just a stones-throw away from this year’s Watches and Wonders in Geneva and there will be an expanded line-up of over 70 independent brands presenting at the show Time to Watches runs simultaneously with Watches and Wonders in Geneva from April 1-6 2025 and takes place in Villa Sarasin, which is just one minute’s walk from the main Palexpo exhibition centre that is located in the heart of Geneva’s Sarasin Park The full exhibitor list for 2025 is: Adriatica Zannetti Independent Watchmaker and Zeppelin Time to Watches has no formal association with Watches and Wonders and its relocation to neighbour the main show is likely to irritate its organisers who was speaking as head of the organising board of Watches and Wonders labelled brands coat-tailing on the global show at satellite events like Time to Watches and those clustering in hotel suites down by Lake Geneva as “pirates” who in many cases (including WatchPro‘s team) have their flights and hotel bills paid for by Watches and Wonders are targeted by the brands showing around other parts of Geneva to get a bit of a free ride from the investment made in the global coverage that flows from hosting thousands of reporters from around the world But that’s okay,” Mr Dufour said ahead of the shows in 2024 If the rebuke was designed to deflate the independents exhibiting around the city The buzz at hotels like the Beau Rivage seemed to be even more excitable after the Rolex chief’s comments The 11-story maurices building had its official dedication in June 2016 three-year project is the largest commercial development in downtown Duluth and includes a $20 million city and state investment in a skywalk and public parking lot December 1931 recorded a big event for the nascent clothing store It wasn’t the month Emanuel Morris “Maurice” Labovitz opened the store in downtown Duluth December 1931 was the first month the new store turned a profit – a whopping $4.12 when Maurices (now officially “maurices”) had another big event The billion-dollar-a-year business with 1,000 locations across the United States and Canada opened a new $80 million headquarters complex – about two blocks over and two blocks down from that original store The little store to which Maurice gave his name 85 years ago certainly has come a long way … all the while staying grounded in the city where he grew up and later raised his family and we have to keep in step with it,” Maurice announced during one of several dozen remodels of his store over the years “Dynamic” certainly describes the company’s rise Loyalty to region and commitment to associates also rank high for the biggest and oldest Lake-grown retail business sings high praises for his city and for maurices “Duluth is a good home for our business because it’s a great reflection of the communities we serve in the U.S and we have excellent education systems and partnership programs that help feed our talent pool We’ve been so fortunate to retain and recruit such a fantastic workforce in Duluth!” The new structure features wonderful views of the city and Lake Superior especially from the rooftop terrace that connects to the associate family room The Labovitz family has a long history with the city of Duluth Maurice’s parents who like many immigrants changed names to Frank and Rachel Labovitz came to the United States in 1900 from Romania on a ship when Ruhla was eight months pregnant Maurice was born soon after the family settled in Minneapolis Frank opened the People’s Bargain Store at 221 West First Street Maurice was “Morris” until he decided in his teen years to adopt a more French-sounding name he already had worked years in his father’s business and was doing advertising copy for the store 1927 was also the year Maurice married Ella Lavine who emigrated as a child from Lithuania to Superior The Labovitzes paid off creditors (at a rate higher than they had suggested) and the family business officially came out of bankruptcy on June 3 “Dad told me I had always been lucky for him,” Joel wrote in his book Living Life Forward the associate family room is adjacent by design to an outdoor terrace It’s one space of which CEO George Goldfarb is most proud: “We wanted to create a place where our associates could gather Our multipurpose family room or ‘energy area’ as we like to call it It’s so fun for me to be able to walk out into our family room and see the spectacular views of Lake Superior and associates enjoying a cup of coffee and meeting with a co-worker or a large group gathered to brainstorm right off our family room is the outdoor terrace The ability to enjoy fresh air and sunshine makes such a difference in morale and energy levels!” A sample of the new fall fashions for maurices The retail operation is working to create more of its own clothing designs and recently opened a design office in New York Maurices opened to sell the “finest fashions.” From the get-go Maurice intended to live up to his slogan: “First with more of everything new in fashion.” The store opened at 230 West Superior Street and remained there for three years moving to 120 West Superior Street in 1933 Maurice hired a Chicago architect to design the marble-sided structure the first commercial building so outfitted in Duluth a lucky thing happened: “A shopping center developer in Manitowoc dragged us kicking and screaming and resisting” into this early mall turned out to be a successful business model That started an expansion process that brings the business up to today was purchased by Dutch firm American Retail Group (ARG) The company’s success comes from its location in small to mid-size markets serving a population neglected by some fashion stores at least one on each of our four shores – Minnesota Wisconsin and Ontario – feature a maurices excellent customer service and having fashions that are on trend and flatter all women,” George Goldfarb says … We’re inclusive and our core purpose is to ‘inspire women to look and feel great just as they are.’ … The thing we really want people to know is that we offer today’s trends where women of all ages and sizes can shop together and find something they love.” Joel Labovitz is speaking here at the Labo Awards annual honors given to local businesses from the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Labovitz School of Business The awards are named for the Labovitz family; “Laib,” the original family name The early maurices was fashionable and eye-catching in 1937 All of this gets us to that new 11-story building that occupies the 400 block of West Superior Street While maurices no longer has a downtown Duluth retail store (one is located up in the Miller Mall and in Cloquet) its commitment to downtown might be measured in its large investment in the building there airy and open with walls of windows facing Lake Superior features many amenities that also reflect the business’ commitment to its workers Nurturing of associates has been a hallmark of maurices since the start In announcing addition of eight more states for the maurices brand in 1974 Joel also pointed out the importance of good satisfied employees: “We’re a people-oriented business We expend a lot of effort in careful selection of personnel and thorough and frequent training and instructive motivation so that our people have a feeling of pride in their work and the product.” Joel turned over the reins of the company in 1981 Asked today what had made maurices so special … I honestly don’t remember losing a person in my 31 years over issues such as enough pay or because we didn’t have enough opportunity.” To emphasize the importance of the right people Maurices still shows a willingness to invest in happy – and healthy – staff an outdoor deck to enjoy fresh air and breathtaking views adjustable height desks so associates can sit or stand throughout the day and a mock store that is a replica of a real store to provide visual direction to stores across the country.” “One of our core values is ‘People First,’” emphasizes George “We were recognized by Forbes this past year as being one of America’s Best Employers and we’ve been recognized as a Minnesota Top Work Place.” That maurices is a great place to work is just one thing he hopes local folks know about their hometown business with worldwide ties What started as a small retail store in 1931 profitable company that’s doubled its store count and sales over the past 10 years We do over $1 billion in annual sales and have 9,000 associates across North America we’re a thriving business that is headquartered just a few blocks down from where it all started.” We asked maurices CEO and President George Goldfarb to give us his best “elevator pitch” to another corporation thinking about locating around the Big Lake “The Lake Superior region is a great place to do business because it offers a quality of life that cannot be found elsewhere From abundant outdoor opportunities to a thriving arts and culture scene makes it easy to attract and retain top talent and people really are the heart of any business.” maurices associates put on a special “Italian Dinner” with decorations for the free noon meal at the Damiano Center At Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank they brought a $2,000 check from the company Then they pitched in to stuff bags with food they call it “The Best Day Ever” because all 450 associates in the Duluth headquarters – plus the New York design staff and store leaders flown in from around the country – get to socialize listen to motivational speakers and do a fashion show on a paid work day associate vice president for communications and engagement And the giving doesn’t stop at Duluth’s city limits; it extends to all communities in which maurices has its 1,000 stores “We give about $8.5 million annually across the country,” Laura says “We’ve always had a strong interest in giving back and being involved in our community.” the associates volunteered with about 30 organizations the focus will be organizations that align with maurices’ vision to empower women and children “to be their best.” maurices encourages associates to be on committees and boards Terra Stenberg and Bri Waldoch are part of the group that helps to decide – and then organize – the volunteering “We’ve always had a good charitable program,” says Terra The idea for the big day came about when the company hit $1 billion in sales two years ago How can we take our success and share it with the community?” The volunteer day is part of the whole package of associate development promoted by maurices where one of the features is a workout room for exercise and classes The company’s commitment to community was one of the things that lured Bri from a job in the Twin Cities volunteering is an important part of my life The company connects to the community,” she says “You feel a lot more fulfilled when you put in a little sweat (to help others).” is that you meet people who work in other departments through the volunteering “One of the values we have is people,” Bri says of maurices Tweets by @lakesuperiormag !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); SUBMIT EMAIL HERE A Great Lakes Information Network partner. ©2020 Lake Superior Publishing LLC. All rights reserved. • 109 W. Superior St. #200 • Duluth, MN 55802 • 218-722-5002 • edit@LakeSuperior.com 2018·Ski JumpingJuliane Seyfarth of Germany could celebrate a clear win in the first competition of the Ladies Continental Cup in Trondheim (NOR) The 27-year-old of the ski club in Ruhla showed the longest jumps in both rounds with 100.5 m and 98.5 m and took her ninth win in the COC with 269.4 points The last time Juliane Seyfarth stood on top of the podium was in February 2014 in Lahti (FIN) Aleksandra Barantceva came in second with 94.5 m and 96 m and 248.7 points This was the first podium finish for the 15-year-old Russian in only her third Continental Cup competition The third place went to the also only 15-year-old Pole Kamila Karpiel who scored a total of 238.9 points with her jumps of 94 m and 96 m the best ski jumper of the Norwegian hosts who was not able to defend her third place after the first round and came in fifth overall Lidiia and Mariia Iakovleva were sixth and seventh and completed a fantastic result for the young Russian team They were followed by Jana Mrakotova of the Czech Republic (8th) and Austria's Elisabeth Raudaschl (9th) Susanna Forsstroem (10th) represented Finland in the Top 10 on Friday evening Before the final competition of the summer season on Saturday Kamila Karpiel leads the overall ranking of the Continental Cup with 240 points Ramona Straub (230 points) and Anna Shpyneva (130 points) are second and third.