Comments:
swiss watch exports continue their steep decline March 2016
Swiss watch exports have touched a new low. Exports for March 2016 to HongKong have declined 37% compared with March 2015 while USA registered a 33% decline and China dropping by 13%.
Regds
Opportunity to add to the collection?
should this accompany by a downward price adjustment...
A price adjustment will be one if the adaptive actions
Watch manufacturers will now need to provide better value to customers to stay alive. It will not be a simple pricing reduction exercise but will require manufacturers to improve customer experience by faster service time wrt repairs; extended warranty terms as a value differentiator and above all create offerings that are not simply cosmetic.
We will perhaps see shrinkage of distribution outlets and we may also sadly witness the exit of a few independent brands that may simply not have the scale and deep pockets to withstand this downturn. This message has been edited by chintu on 2016-04-26 10:26:16
We will perhaps see shrinkage of distribution outlets and we may also sadly witness the exit of a few independent brands that may simply not have the scale and deep pockets to withstand this downturn. This message has been edited by chintu on 2016-04-26 10:26:16
The demand has been lacklustre for more than 8 qtrs now...but instead of discounting...
...they went asinine with the mark-ups to maintain their bottom lines. All commodities used in manufacturing were/are still at bottom lows in a decade but those were never passed through. Having made a lot of money in past 7-8 years with that skewed pricing matrix Swiss watchmakers have accumulated enuf chunks of cheese to sustain them through these winters.
The big question is:
Is this just temporary or is the tide changing? Why didn't this collapse happen starting from 2009? The global economy is not in such a bad stage that it would explain alone the changes.
Perhaps fine, insanely priced high end watches are going out of fashion...
Best, Kari
Perhaps fine, insanely priced high end watches are going out of fashion...
Best, Kari
The possibility of going out of fashion is an interesting idea. If so, then where do those dollars go. I also wonder if a surge in sales came from non purist types who are now a saturated market. The people
who were somehow able to stop buying after their first nautilus or GMT. And that would be consistent with a fashion trend involving people outside the core aficionados. The demand arose and now it's subsided. The other interesting thing is that this decline is happening as boutiques have been sprouting up like weeds. I can think of many new ones in Vegas, NYC and Miami.
This message has been edited by watchthatman on 2016-04-26 14:47:07
This message has been edited by watchthatman on 2016-04-26 14:49:48
This message has been edited by watchthatman on 2016-04-26 14:47:07
This message has been edited by watchthatman on 2016-04-26 14:49:48
The change is constant
and it seems to me that the watch manufacturers are trying to manage the changing environment with the old medicine.
Best, Kari
I have noticed how plenty are the "difficult to source" watches
at most ADs. Yet, I hear the same from all of them: "You will hardly see this one around, we only get one of these a year". You go to the next one on the same road in London, the same high end watch is on the display. In fact one AD told me he had two of the same "rare" watch. However, the prices are fixed with hardly any discount. I'd like to see how things change in a year or two, will the prices still be fixed then? I asked one of them to give me a ring when there was a sale. We both laughed...
They do not give discounts on Ferrari.
That's what they say. I got 10% off from the price of the car, same on equipment. The discount percentage of my Porsche 911 was 15% but that was very exceptional. Both from AD.
I'm sure the same will happen with watches. The margins are much bigger there than in car business. Such a development is just healthy.
Best, Kari
I'm sure the same will happen with watches. The margins are much bigger there than in car business. Such a development is just healthy.
Best, Kari
Same experience here
I was in Taipei about two months ago and the AD has a Daytona SS in stock, which hasn't happen in the past ten years. Yet they still demand a premium on that in stock watch. Love that watch but I work too hard for my money.
As Kari says, the margins for profit are large so they should give a good discount
If I didn't have to work for my money, I might pay the full price but as it is I find it hard to justify letting go of my hard earned cash so easily.