So, how are brands adapting to the new normal? “Watch brands are finally realising how important it is to have direct contact with the final clients,” said Federica Levato, a partner at Bain & Company in Milan. The second-hand luxury market grew at a rate of 7-10 percent in 2018, according to an estimate from Berenberg Bank, compared to a just 3-4 percent increase in the luxury market overall. It's no coincidence that, in the same year, Richemont acquired Watchfinder, a watch resale company that the Swiss conglomerate has cleverly woven into the business of its brands. Unlike jewellery, which is typically exclusively sold through the brand’s own boutiques, luxury watches are also sold in watch-dedicated stores such as Watches of Switzerland or Bucherer that have developed services of their own.īrands have little control over these retailers and in 2018, Richemont's profits were hit by the €200 million spent on buying back watches to protect them from discounted sales on the grey market. Plus, there’s the third-party seller problem. Apple’s sales of “wearables, home and accessories,” including AirPods, the HomePod and the Apple Watch, were $24.5 billion in 2019, and research firm Strategy Analytics calculated that the Apple Watch owned 51 percent share of the record 18 million smartwatches shipped in the last quarter of 2018. Not only is a timepiece wholly unnecessary in our connected age, but in many cases it has been entirely replaced by a computer. Globally, the consumer’s fundamental relationship with watches is changing. Now, the coronavirus is affecting the Lunar New Year’s gifting season.īezel fitting | Source: Hublot Bezel fitting | Source: Hublot Swiss watch exports to Hong Kong posted a sharp decline of 26.7 percent in November 2019 vs 2018, following a 29.7 percent year-over-year drop in October.
Student protests in Hong Kong, which began last summer, shook one of the industry’s pillar markets. Richemont’s sales of watches declined by 15 percent in that fiscal year, but soon began to recover. While the luxury watch market was valued at €39 billion in 2019, according to Bain & Company - almost double the size of branded fine jewellery, which hit €21 billion - the industry has been navigating troubled waters since 2015, when the Chinese government started its clampdown on gifted - and corruption-fuelling - watches. Switzerland exported 23.74 million timepieces in 2018, down 20 percent from 29.66 million in 2000. While Switzerland exported 1.66 million high-end watches (those priced over roughly $3,000) in 2019, up from 488,000 in 2000, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, the overall market for Swiss watches is shrinking. The hope is that all the extra effort will result in a longer relationship with customers, and make them appreciate the value of a watch amid uncertain times. LVMH-owned Hublot has the Hublotista platform, which enables clients to book specialised visits to the Hublot factory in addition to expected routine services, and independent Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet opened the AP House in London, wrapping its service in a plush private club. Watchmaker Panerai, which is, like Cartier, owned by Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont, recently launched Pam.Guard, which offers warranty extensions up to eight years, a personalised newsletter and reminder for maintenance work. Yet, coming from the company that invented the business of modern men’s wristwatches as we know it - wristwatches used to only be worn by women until 1904, when Cartier created the first design for men, who previously favoured pocket watches - the programme signals a shift of focus in the industry, from selling new timepieces to adding value to future and existing ones as sales of new watches continue to be challenged across the globe.Ĭartier isn't the only brand thinking this way. The programme is “an example of how we provide our clients with surprising, compelling and relevant experiences,” said Arnaud Carrez, marketing, communication and clients services director at Cartier International. Instead, it's a suped-up service for watches they already own.Ĭartier Care offers clients the expected support - strap changes, maintenance work, personalisation - as well as the unexpected, including warranty extensions, watch buy-back offers, discounts on future purchases and even the opportunity to borrow timepieces for a limited time. PARIS, France - Hard luxury purveyor Cartier's latest addition to its watch stable isn't a shiny, new, diamond-encrusted model meant to woo top-spending customers.
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