But the burden is inevitably shared between the buyer and the seller, dealing a further blow to margins that are already weak. With the full-year results from the major groups no longer breaking all imaginable records and barely recording growth, it is inevitable that net profit will suffer. The first case was seen with the Swatch Group, whose net income dropped for the first time in six years, in spite of modest growth in sales. But even such modest growth is welcome in light of the disappointing overall export statistics published by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.
In this uncertain climate, a successful smart watch launch could be the ace up the sleeve. After initially dismissing the new wearable technology, some of the traditional Swiss watch brands now seem to at least acknowledge a perceived threat. Montblanc presented its “e-Strap” at the start of the year, TAG Heuer has confirmed it is working on a smart watch and Frédérique Constant was the first mainstream watch brand to present its own smart watch. In the run-up to the world’s biggest watch fair, other brands were also keen to show us their movement and design projects, regardless of their level of readiness.
The big date for the industry is now upon us and you can already see some of the stars of Basel in these very pages and on worldtempus.com. Don’t be surprised to see more technical wizardry combined with traditional watchmaking know-how as the year progresses.
*check out the interview of its Managing Director Sylvie Ritter on worldtempus.com
