SIHH and the Apple Watch scare
Apple Watch has rattled the Swiss watch industry but there were watches at SIHH 2015 that can compete with the best that Apple has to offer
This is an odd time to be publishing a special report on a trade fair for wristwatches. Nobody knows exactly how many Apple Watches have been sold so far. But by my reckoning, just on the strength of the watches it has sold so far, Apple has already overtaken all but a handful of Swiss brands in terms of top-line revenue.
Just sit and think about that for a second. And reflect on what that means for an industry that, in many ways, is the antithesis of everything that Apple stands for. Traditional watchmakers are not particularly good at communicating. Their websites are unusable. Their marketing material is abstruse and vague, sometimes intentionally so. There is little logic or linearity to the pricing of most Swiss watches. And customers are encouraged to never, ever draw a line connecting the functionality of their watches and the prices they pay for them. Indeed, the higher you go up the hierarchy of the Swiss watch industry, the less you can make sense of the prices that are charged for watches. Which is why Swiss brands love talking of intangibles—emotions, heritage, craftsmanship, savoir-faire…all things that are difficult to quantify.
It is this world that Apple seems poised to rent asunder. Rent asunder with its slick marketing, interactive technology, tiered pricing, expert hand-holding, exquisite retailing and vibrant ecosystem. But all this by itself is not enough to shake the spirits of some of the world’s great watch brands. Because they’ve seen fads come and go.
No. What will truly rattle them is a trend that is now slowly emerging—celebrities wearing the Apple Watch. Perhaps even endorsing it. That strikes at an idea that sits at the very heart of the Swiss watch industry: aspiration by association. Take away the halo of exclusivity and luxury from the Swiss watch industry and suddenly you are left with a niche proposition that caters to a tiny slice of the world watch market that is prepared to pay a premium for mechanical technology.
And there is no better place to see this slice of the world watch market in action than at SIHH. In this month’s issue, we review all the latest launches and trends from the year’s first major watch fair. There were some excellent watches there that we think can compete with the best that Apple has to offer. Or can they?
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