In September, Swiss watch exports rose by 11.7%, marking a fourth consecutive month of growth. But apparently this is not the case over at Zenith, where 200 people are threatened by lay-offs. 100 at the manufacture, and another 100 in the international network. Nor are things all that rosy over at IWC, where 18 people had to go this autumn.
I will happily admit that I am not a business analyst. But forgive me for being somewhat confused by these numbers. What is actually happening? Are we reaching safer shores, or are we about to be sucked down into a Bermudian vortex? Or, is it as simple as market shares changing hands in some kind of a consolidation phase where some brands are laughing all the way to the bank, whereas others might go down unless they are very careful? Or is it all of the above? What can we learn from this chasm?
I don’t know. If you do, don’t hesitate to give me a call or drop me a line.
In the meantime, life goes on:
Last Friday I went up to Biel Bienne for a great interview with Certina’s CEO Dieter Pachner. To me seeing these pieces and hearing about the strategy confirmed what I have been saying for a while now: The entry, or just-beyond-entry level is more and more often becoming the most interesting segment. This is where you have creativity, quality, durability, unicity, and a great WPD-index (Watch Per Dollar).
At the moment the GMT Watch Safari is underway, where 16 collectors from around the world are visiting 10 manufactures and enjoying various events during a unique week-long immersion in the Swiss watch industry made possible thanks to GMT. The exclusive visits will be at Audemars Piguet, Bvlgari, De Bethune, Frederique Constant, Mauron Musy, Laurent Ferrier, Longines, Panerai and Roger Dubuis. On October 29, the group will also check out the GPHG nominee exhibition opening at Musée d'Art et d'Histoire.
Speaking of GPHG, next week, the GPHG ceremony is happening on November 7 – definitely a highlight of the year on the watch calendar. Who will be the winners at the most prestigious evening of the year? Will the internationally striving event still be somewhat stuck in a rather francophone mode, or will the new jury president Wei Koh make it into an all-English event? Next week I will have a pre-gala interview with the GPHG president Raymond Loretan, who will let us all know about the current and the future status of the event.
Until then, I wish you a great time. I do hope you are reading this from the right side of the chasm.
All the Best,
Anders
