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Swatch group profits rise- reasons for AD delays

  1. Syrte MWR Tech Support Dept Jul 18, 2018

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    Several reports this morning indicate Swatch Group’s net profits rose by 67%, pushed by increasing demand in North America and Asia.

    My favorite part was the Reuters writer (apparently not someone familiar with the industry) explaining it’s the « world’s biggest watchmaker, whose portfolio spans expensive Breguet, flashy Omega, elegant Longines and sporty Tissot timepieces."
    :D

    Edit / add - very interestingly and according to the Financial times, Swatch attributes this success to millenials -and they say the rising interest in vintage and pre-owned products « favors strong, innovative and authentic brands. »
     
    Edited Jul 18, 2018
  2. aap Jul 18, 2018

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    I hate this kind of writing, not just for watches, but for anything!
     
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  3. Syrte MWR Tech Support Dept Jul 18, 2018

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    Also just read another interesting article, the reason why there is so much delay for the delivery of watches to the ADs is that the ADs did not anticipate demand. Because of the important slump in 2015-2016 the AD have been squeamish about placing advance orders and now that demand suddenly has become strong the supply has to play catch up.
     
  4. Radiumpassion Jul 18, 2018

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    It's great that people buy new wristwatches and leave the old and used ones
    to us;)
     
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  5. Syrte MWR Tech Support Dept Jul 18, 2018

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    Well it’s clear our chatter and enthusiasm also plays a part in pushing the modern watches.
     
  6. Radiumpassion Jul 18, 2018

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    Offcourse! I will not deny the great feeling of peeling off the plastic on a brand new watch. Even though I havent felt it since back in 2002:whistling:
     
    Syrte likes this.
  7. tyrantlizardrex Jul 18, 2018

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    Talking to some industry folks last week, the other half of the story is that brands are refusing to supply some stock to some ADs on the basis that they “didn’t maintain the relationship” when things got tough.

    Feels rather school-playground, but more and more than appears to be the way the industry is. ::facepalm1::
     
    Mtnmansa likes this.
  8. aap Jul 18, 2018

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    There’s a thin line between this and an equally common business practice of “choosing partners based on loyalty and shared values”
     
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  9. tyrantlizardrex Jul 18, 2018

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    Quite.
     
  10. abrod520 Jul 18, 2018

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    Ugh those millennials, killing off all our industries. How will this forum survive if they're not collecting watches? They only want iPhones and Snapchats, listening to all their hippity-hop music. They should just go get a job and -

    wait, what? They're actually buying so many watches that profits are way up? But... but.... but this doesn't fit my preferred narrative!
     
  11. tyrantlizardrex Jul 18, 2018

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    I'd be interested to see any hard evidence that increased sales of vintage watches, lead to increased sales of brand new watches through official retail channels... not saying BS... but... bs?
     
  12. Dan S Jul 18, 2018

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    Probably hard to prove, but I do find it interesting how many "reissues" and "heritage" pieces have been coming out in recent years from many brands. This suggests anecdotally to me that there is some influence of the popularity of vintage watches on new watch buying trends.
     
    gostang9 likes this.
  13. tyrantlizardrex Jul 18, 2018

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    It's going to be epically hard to prove isn't it?

    I suspect that many brands have run out of new ideas... and are just chasing the areas of the vintage market where they perceive they could make a quick buck.

    Not that I'm cynical or anything. :D
     
    noelekal likes this.
  14. gostang9 Jul 18, 2018

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    That’s true in cars, fashion, ...
     
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  15. jimmyd13 Jul 18, 2018

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    I have the same thoughts towards my banks, though. Some fifteen years ago, they removed my overdraft facility when I was going through a bad patch. These days, they send me up to three emails a day offering loans at rates varying from nought to 3.3% pa. Fookem. They wanted their umbrella back when it started to rain; now the sun's out they want to give it back.
     
  16. tyrantlizardrex Jul 18, 2018

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    Yup. Sounds familiar.

    I've heard it from both sides... both sides complain and whinge about the other.

    ADs are pissed that Brands force stock on them, keep upping retail prices, won't let/penalise them for offering discounts, and make "bad watches"

    Brands are pissed that ADs won't buy the stock they want to sell when they want to sell it, won't pre-order "enough" at Basel, and want to offer discounts.

    Neither side recognise that both sides are equally "wrong", and "right" for a given values. ::facepalm1::
     
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  17. jimmyd13 Jul 18, 2018

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    There can't be many 20-somethings who can afford a vintage ... let's pick the sub. On the other hand, or wrist, a Tudor Black Bay something just costs a decent associate's bonus.
    Oh, be cynical. The cynical Lizard is much more fun to read. I'm not so sure it's a lack of ideas, though. Rather the re-issue band wagon is about promoting the "heritage" and "reliability" along with other perceived strengths and values of the Swiss watch industry. Leave the weird shit to TokyoFlash and Richard Mille.
     
  18. abrod520 Jul 18, 2018

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    I have no real hard thoughts about that bit, but I don't think it's completely BS. What I responded to however was the point that millennials are buying lots of watches, thus disproving all the hand-wringing that's been going on here lately. I'm sure some of those watches bought were vintage reeditions, but I think much of the lower-end stuff (that I assume they're buying) is actually more forward-looking than you think. The new Railmaster, while certainly vintage-inspired, is an all-new design and the Seamaster 300M divers are pretty cool-looking too IMO
     
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  19. tyrantlizardrex Jul 18, 2018

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    But the point is that "Swatch attributes this success to millenials"... they provide no evidence that Millenials are buying more watches... I don't think they have any.

    What they do have, is evidence that they're spending an absolute ton of cash advertising to that audience.

    That said, I bet a lot of Millennial's buy £50 Swatch watches, or £250 Tissots... rather than anything of the expensive offerings in the brand portfolio in volume.

    I get what you're getting at, but whilst the new Railmaster is lower end in the world of Omega, it's so much money when your salary is £20-30k a year.
     
  20. Dan S Jul 18, 2018

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    I would guess that they have a fair amount of market research, including demographics of who is buying their products, and what products they are buying. But you're absolutely right that they don't provide the data, and I don't think they're going to do so. And I agree that there's no reason to blindly believe a throwaway line from a press release.

    Still, it's nice to think that millennials may be buying watches. :thumbsup:
     
    MaiLollo likes this.