Every two years, the FH office in Tokyo commissions a specialist polling company (Yano Research Institute Ltd) to obtain a clearer idea of consumer preferences in relation to watches in the archipelago. Selected online from more than 12,200 individuals, nearly 7,800 replied that they had purchased a watch in 2011 and 37.2% declared an interest in watches costing more than 100,000 yen. The sample used covers 1,500 people.
Compared to 2010, it is clear that overall the proportion of consumers owning two or more watches has fallen, from 82.8% to 78.7%. However the number of men aged between 20 and 30 and women over the age of 50 owning two or more watches has increased significantly, by 4.7 and 4 points respectively. The most commonly owned brands are Japanese (Casio in first place, followed by Seiko and Citizen). Next come Omega, Rolex, Swatch, Cartier, Gucci and TAG Heuer. The 10,000 to 30,000 yen price category is most popular among 19.8% of those surveyed, be they women or men (+2.3 points compared to 2010). Half of men aged between 30 and 40 and women over 30 wear watches costing 100,000 yen or more. This is also the case for 60% of men over the age of 50 and women from the age of 40.
More than half of respondents said they bought their timepiece in the watch section of a department store, particularly women (60.1%), with 43.7% making their purchase in a specialist store, 30.4% in a discount store, 19.9% in a duty free shop or a retail outlet abroad, 20.6% online and 12.2% in an own-name store. Men are more interested in the functions and different specifications of the watch while women pay more attention to the fashion aspect, which greatly influences the type of store visited. Men have a more marked interest in websites than women. They are also more attentive to the price factor, whereas women attach importance to the quality of the after-sales service and the in-store ambience. As in the past however, the choice of distribution channel is governed primarily by the fact that it only sells authorised imports.
Nearly 70% favour classic watches. Men (particularly those aged between 30 and 40) prefer sports watches and multifunctional models, while women have a preference for fashion and jewellery watches. Automatic timepieces are most popular (44.6%), closely followed by quartz watches (42%). The popularity of mechanical watches is increasing (14.4% compared to 10.9% in 2010).
Questioned about their future preferences, more respondents than in 2010 indicated that they would like to buy a watch costing between 10,000 and 150,000 yen (+6.9 points). This phenomenon is marked among young people between 20 and 30 years of age. In addition, 12.5% of those surveyed declared a preference for watches costing between 200,000 and 300,000 yen (16.7% in 2010), 16.7% would opt for the 300,000 to 500,000 yen category (18.7% in 2010) and 13.8% for the 500,000 to 1 million yen category (13.7%). The Rolex, Omega, Cartier, Franck Muller and Bulgari brands top the list of preferences
