International Swiss watchmaking conglomerate Swatch Group has confirmed that prices for at least six of its brands will increase by 5% in the UK. The price adjustment is due to take place starting March 1st, 2017, and follows the pound’s recent 15% loss in value against the Swiss franc.
So you wanna be a watch industry CEO superstar? Maybe you’d like to know some of the likely attributes the people who run your favorite watch brand may have. If you want to run a watch company or are interested in why I think some of the better brands exist as they do today, then continue reading.
Here is why a lone management consultant in oil & gas from a city with zero horological pedigree has something to offer the readers of aBlogtoWatch: I’m working on launching an attainable watch, made completely by the best Swiss suppliers I can find for the money, and I’m going to share the adventure with you.
As continued falling exports and steeply declining net income hinder the days of the Swiss watch industry, analysts at Canalys say the Apple Watch sales accounted for about 80% of the smartwatch market in sales value in the first three-month period in the fiscal year of 2017. Let’s analyze what this means and what both the traditional and connected technology watch industries can glean from this information.
The Swatch Group has announced Key Figures for the year ended December 31, 2016, ahead of more details to follow in its Annual Report in March. The announcement mostly shows falling numbers for 2016 but “anticipates healthy growth in 2017…”
One of the biggest complaints among watch enthusiasts is that luxury watch prices are too high. The truth is that watch prices and increases thereof depend on which side of the US Dollar you sit on and which economy you live in.
In my 9th year attending SIHH, I’d like to once again recap the overall sentiment of the show as well as point out key highlights which we think the general watch-loving public should be excited about in 2017. Before we get to our top 11 watches of SIHH 2017, I’d like to explore the general watch and luxury industry atmosphere so that people get a better idea of why particular products are being made – and for whom.
We recently had the chance to talk with Fabienne Lupo, Chairwoman and Managing Director of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), the body that organizes the watch trade show SIHH. As SIHH 2017 has just concluded, this would be read more…
Zenith has enjoyed great successes and some scary downturns in the manufacture’s some 152-year history. The latest pivoting point comes just now as Zenith has today officially announced that Jean-Claude Biver, Head of Watchmaking at LVMH, is taking over the role of CEO of Zenith from Aldo Magada.
The Swiss watch industry was likely hoping for some performance rebounds at the end of 2016 in anticipation of the holiday shopping season, but alas such hopes have not been realized. Rather than proclaim “doom and gloom,” I prefer to see this as part of a larger trend of returning to normalcy.