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The Baselworld Jewelery and Watchmaking Fair continues to shrink: with the Swatch Group, the largest exhibitor to date is leaving the Basel Watch and Jewelery Fair. The company with a salon budget of more than 50 million francs has decided to no longer be present at Baselworld from 2019, said group CEO Nick Hayek at "NZZ am Sonntag".
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Traditional watch fairs no longer make sense for Swatch, Hayek justified the retreat. His company has participated with almost all 18 brands for years. Previously, Hermès, Ulysse Nardin and Girard-Perregaux joined the SIHH show in Geneva.
Not the only retirement
Critical voices in the industry require, among other things, new approaches to organize and hold the fair. In Basel this year, with 650 exhibitors, it was only half as much as the year before. With the withdrawal of Swatch, the future of the MCH fair is also threatened, according to the newspaper, half of which is held by the three cantons of Basel-City, Basel-Country and Zurich.
The watch industry is on the rise
In recent years, the decline partly due to the gloom of the economy explains the weakness of the demand for watches and the hype of smartwatches. This is no longer true: since the beginning of the year, Swiss watch exports have exceeded CHF 10 billion.
According to the newspaper, many things have changed in the watch industry in recent years: direct contact with consumers has become more prominent in the era of online marketing and social media. Most brands have long been established internationally and have their own branches in countries such as China, Japan or the United States. Thus, they maintained contact with local dealers without them having to go to Switzerland
The price of entry was exceeded
"It is clear that the fair has to reinvent itself and adapt to the 21st century, "said Jean-Claude Biver, LVMH's Chief of Watch Division, in talks with CNN Money in March. "It takes more discussions, conferences, animations and forums," Biver said. The fair should do more to address the public – the entry fee of 60 francs is sketched and ridiculous.
The boss of the exhibition, Michel Loris-Melikoff, wants to organize the fair 2019 "in the most attractive way possible in a new style and in a new way of thinking". He leaves no trace to keep Swatch. Significant innovations are planned for 2020.
(Vay / SDA)
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