“When times change, there a different ways to adjust a watch. Take Swatch and Richemont,” Andrea Felsted reports for Bloomberg. “The woes of the market for luxury timepieces were laid bare on Friday when Swatch, maker of the eponymous plastic watches and upscale brands such as Omega, warned first-half profit will fall by more than 50 percent. The stock tumbled to the lowest in more than six years.”
“Swatch isn’t alone in finding life in the watches and jewelry market tough,” Felsted reports. “Richemont, maker of Cartier watches, said in May it expected a difficult first half.Swiss watch exports, a barometer for the industry’s fortunes, have fallen for 11 consecutive months.”
“Sales fell in Hong Kong. Europe, especially France and Switzerland were also weaker,” Felsted reports. “Meanwhile, Swatch is also at risk from the rise of the smartwatch.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take:
The Apple Watch is an interesting toy. — Swatch CEO Nick Hayek, Jr., – August 21, 2015
It certainly is.
SEE ALSO:
Thanks to Apple Watch, smartwatches are now more popular than Swiss watches – February 19, 2016
As Apple Watch sales ramp, Swiss watch makers suffer biggest slump in six years – November 19, 2015
Swiss watch makers in deep shit, as Apple Watch designer Jony Ive predicted – October 23, 2015
Swiss watch exports post biggest quarterly export drop since 2009 – October 20, 2015
Apple Watch: Swatch CEO whistles past the graveyard – March 18, 2015
Old school watch makers don’t get Apple Watch – September 12, 2014
Apple Watch, the world’s first real smartwatch, will be a massive hit – September 9, 2014
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Denis” for the heads up.]
Who the hell needs a watch these days?
When I go out walking or running I like to have my watch so I can quickly keep track of how long I’ve been out. I don’t want to keep getting my phone out, and sometimes I get muddy so wouldn’t really want an Apple Watch (or indeed any other expensive item) getting damaged.
You’re also getting along fine without much of a brain, ‘cept for the incoherent mumbling, rambling and such.
You consult adult assistance if you feel the need to read my posts.
You need assistance writing them and unfortunately you keep posting them. 🙁
I believe there will always be a niche for beautiful, finely crafted mechanical time pieces, but it will be a fairly small niche. The same can be said for plastic, throw away watches, except that the size of the niche (at least in terms of profit) will be even smaller.
“Five hundred dollars fully subsidized with a plan! I said that is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard, which makes it not a very good email machine …. I like our strategy. I like it a lot….Right now we’re selling millions and millions and millions of phones a year, Apple is selling zero phones a year. In six months, they’ll have the most expensive phone by far ever in the marketplace and let’s see … let’s see how the competition goes.”
I was one of them that did NOT see this coming. I never saw myself as a “watch guy” but I have owned a watch since I was around 12 years old and have worn one almost every day of my life. I have several “nice” watches” that I really liked and never seriously considered getting an apple watch. My Sister-in-law bought me one and I gave it a try. It has NOT been off my wrist for over 8 months (except for the damn nightly charge). Recently I was going to a wedding I went to put my favorite “dress” watch on and though – “nah I have to drive to a place I’ve never been need my directions better hold with the Apple Watch”. The days and number of folks that wear “dumb” time pieces is coming to an end…again I didn’t see that coming and I don’t think THEY did either.
I could not agree with you more trying to say that you don’t know why anyone would need a watch is silly. The watch grows on you insanely quickly if you try it you will like it. In addition it has extended my battery life on my iPhone 5s and 6s+ I don’t need to take it out of my pocket all that much any more. For the nay Sayers.. Get one, try it and become a believer.
and their CEO said the Apple watch would never amount to anything or hurt their business . another one bites the dust
“Personally, I don’t believe it’s the next revolution. Replacing an iPhone with an interactive terminal on your wrist is difficult. You can’t have an immense display.”
– Swatch CEO, Nick Hayek
“Swiss watchmakers are fucked”
– Apple’s Chief Design Officer, Jony Ive
A luxury watch is something that will last you a lifetime and also a status symbol. The Apple watch fills neither of these, so both have their own markets. A gadget on your wrist is The Apple Watch, swatch are better concentrating on their luxury brands the plastic swatch brand is doomed
The Fate of Swiss Luxury Watches-Becoming Antique
Those who value the luxury, status, and prestige of expensive Swiss watches, timepieces, and Certified Chronometers are a dying breed; literally. Those that grew-up with mechanical watches are those that value them most.
When it comes time to pass on a heritage timepiece to someone accustomed to the daily usefulness of an watch, what will happen?
I expect the timepiece will be looked upon with a certain awe given to antiques of superb craftsmanship that still function. I also expect, that except on rare occasions it will go unworn and unused. Like an antique Model T Ford driven only in parades.
I expect the heritage watch will end up in a jewelry box or drawer, or perhaps a special display place on a mantle or shelf.
watches were designed, styled, and fashioned such that people want to wear them. Technology on your wrist that won’t embarrass and brand you as a tech nerd. Watch Sport for everyday wear, Watch for business, or as dress watch, Watch Edition worn for status and prestige. watches, useful fashion beyond timekeeping.
The watch is in a class by itself. The watch is a computer, communications device, and an iPhone complimentary device. “Watch” gives people a familiar frame of reference. Maybe in the future Apple will rename it.
Presently iPhones are being passed down to family members as newer models are purchased. I see no reason why this trend will not continue with the watch. Doing this extends the effective useful life of the watch. I don’t see the watch being passed on to others as a “heritage” watch, however, the expected life of solid state circuitry is about 1,000,000 hours.
Originally posted 23 October 2015
🖖😀⌚️
For many of us, the second gen Apple Watch is the one we were waiting for. Watch OS3 alone made a lot of improvements. The second shoe is going to drop when Watch 2 is released. A lot of Apple diehards know that’s the one to start with and the one we have been waiting for .
It will be interesting to see the numbers after Watch 2 is released.
when the rumours of the Apple Watch were floating around a few years back I sold all my Fossil (watch and fashion company) stock. good company but it sold mid range priced watches and I knew these guys were in serious trouble.
I even wrote a post on Swatch (the co -founder of Swatch Elmar Mock now retired had warned of Apple’s foray which his compatriots ignored.)
Bloomberg: Elmar Mock ” “Apple will succeed quickly,” said the 61-year-old, who helped create the low-price Swatch in the 1980s. “It will put a lot of pressure on the traditional watch industry and jobs in Switzerland.”).
Note 80-90 % of all Swatch watches are in the mid price range and not the super expensive one people like to talk about, right in Apple Watches target area. Swiss watches in total make something like 30 billion a year so if Apple Watch is making something like 10 b now (possible) you can see how big it is.