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What’s happening on March 26th then?

  1. sonicosa Jun 21, 2022

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    I am getting to that age...
     
  2. STANDY schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector Jun 22, 2022

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    Funny I heard the MoonSwatch called the

    Swatchmega

    on Instagram today :D:D
     
  3. alakapla1 Jun 26, 2022

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    Just an update from Melbourne. Seems that stock is becoming more available, albeit still difficult to procure. Was able to pick up a mission to venus for the wife
     
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  4. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jul 8, 2022

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  5. studeb Jul 8, 2022

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    New locations in the US...... hope springs eternal.
    But why bother if they cannot keep them in stock??????/
     
  6. savka Jul 8, 2022

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    I recommend reading through the last 80 or so pages of this thread for an answer to that question ;)
     
  7. cvalue13 Jul 8, 2022

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    “increased sales in Omega stores by more than 50%”

    “Hayek said sales of all Speedmaster models have ‘risen by double digits,’ since the MoonSwatch debuted”

    those two quotes when compared maybe raise some interesting sub-questions. article does go on to say that other lines, incl’d seamaster and connie, are up, too. but for overall sales to be up 50% is … a little unbelievable.
     
  8. Evitzee Jul 8, 2022

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    If Swatch Group has discovered the secret to turn the unavailiablity of a plastic $260 Swatch watch into a sale of a $7,000 Omega Speedmaster they have hit upon the marketing scheme of the century. Count me sceptical of the cause and effect that Swatch & Omega are putting forward.
     
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  9. stonestone Jul 9, 2022

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    Well, unless Hayek is lying it’s difficult to imagine there’s another cause for that kind of jump in sales. Since Swatch doesn’t break out sales for individual models, we don’t know what base that increase is coming off of. But I’m not that surprised enough people were drawn to the $7K version to have a significant impact on sales. That’s what effective marketing can do.
     
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  10. savka Jul 9, 2022

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    Causality is always pretty tricky. Did the MoonSwatch lead to a bump in Omega sales? Sure, in both direct and indirect ways. But there’s so many other factors at play as well, including:
    - Continued Rolex inaccessibility
    - Crypto culture popularizing the phrase “to the moon! ” and therefore potentially igniting interest in the MoonWatch
    - Positive consumer responses to the design changes introduced with the 3861
    - Generalized hype around the watch market and watches as a investments
    - Increased media attention on Omega
    - Relatively low price of the Seamaster compared to other luxury divers

    In any case, I think it’s safe to say Omega has been doing well lately and the MoonSwatch has at least not hurt the brand in a significant way, as some brand enthusiasts originally cautioned…
     
  11. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jul 9, 2022

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    This is the real takeaway for me, that predictions that this would kill Omega were nonsensical.
     
  12. cvalue13 Jul 9, 2022

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    Not ignoring but instead just moving past the real take-away noted by Archer and and savka immediately above:

    Do you believe that effective advertising is ineffective in creating sales?

    Otherwise, I can’t understand what you’re surprised about. The MoonSwatch created a brand attention to Omega that would require probably tens of thousands of magazine ads, or thousands of Tv commercials, to replicate.

    And the message of all those “ads”? Not only does there exist a watch that’s synonymous with space travel, there are tens of thousands of people ravenous to get their hands on even a cheap, if cute, version.

    It’s a pretty good marketing message (if only to the hype horde), and it was being blasted on every media outlet (if only those to which the hype horde pays attention).

    I don’t see this converting to sales as at all surprising.

    Which is why for the past 10+ years luxury brands have been doing non-stop high-low collaborations, ad nauseum.
     
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  13. Walrus Jul 9, 2022

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  14. savka Jul 12, 2022

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  15. tnt9 Jul 13, 2022

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    Is it true that swatch have no intention of offering the watches online? I was thinking to get it for my wife and searched little bit online when I find this artical:
    https://www.gearpatrol.com/watches/a39586621/omega-swatch-moonswatch-availability/

    "In a recent interview with watch website Fratello, the Swatch Group (owner of both Swatch and Omega) CEO Nick Hayek Jr. confirmed that there's no intention of offering the watches online. “The MoonSwatch is not about to make as much money as possible in the shortest possible time period. So why should we sell it online?”"
     
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  16. savka Jul 13, 2022

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    Yup, seems to be the case.
     
  17. Franzjoni Jul 13, 2022

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    Finally something new about it…
    The prices online are near to the Shop price now.
     
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  18. lillatroll Jul 28, 2022

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    Some new stores in new cities added to the list of sales outlets. They are marked with a green dot on the website.
     
    Edited Jul 29, 2022
    savka likes this.
  19. Syrte MWR Tech Support Dept Jul 29, 2022

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    Wow, A 50% surge in turnover in 4 months that would be huge.
    However the conclusions overall don’t surprise me as some of us had already predicted exactly the double whammy they’re talking about:
    1/ increased attention to the Speedie,
    2/ proof to the gen Z that a funky accessory plastic watch can be much cooler than an I watch.

    Worth retaining the article for posterity:
    By
    Andy Hoffman

    8 juillet 2022 à 06:00 UTC+2Updated on8 juillet 2022 à 08:29 UTC+2

    Sales of the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch have surged in the wake of a wildly successful collaboration with plastic timepiece pioneer Swatch that’s introduced the iconic chronograph to a wider public.

    The Speedmaster Moonwatch model, which retails for about $7,000 and is lionized for being the first watch worn on the moon, increased sales in Omega stores by more than 50% since the launch of the $250 MoonSwatch in March, Swatch Group AG CEO Nick Hayek said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Biel, Switzerland.

    [​IMG]
    Nick Hayek at the Swatch Group AG headquarters in Biel, Switzerland.
    Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg
    Hayek said sales of all Speedmaster models have “risen by double digits,” since the MoonSwatch debuted. The original Moonwatch is a hand-wound model featuring a black dial and hesalite glass, though the brand also sells variants with automatic calibers and ceramic or gold cases, topped off with more expensive sapphire glass.

    The MoonSwatch, a quartz-driven timepiece in a ceramic and bio-plastic composite-case, borrows key design elements from the Speedmaster and caused a global retail sensation when it was unveiled in March. Thousands of eager customers thronged stores in the hope of getting hold of the model, which comes in a variety of colors based on celestial bodies of our solar system. The watch quickly sold out, and demand continues to outstrip supply at the 110 Swatch boutiques where the timepiece is currently sold.

    Omega is the largest and most important unit within the Swatch stable of brands, which also include high-end manufacturers Breguet and Blancpain, as well as the more affordable Longines range. While the Moonwatch, first worn by Neil Armstrong and his fellow astronauts on their Apollo mission to the moon in 1969, has long been a mainstay of Omega’s offering, the brand remained behind Rolex and dropped below Cartier in the ranking of the biggest watch makers by revenue last year, according to Morgan Stanley estimates.

    Mobile Vendors
    Hayek has said the MoonSwatch won’t be sold online, but the model will soon appear at more points, including mobile locations in Europe. Swatch will add an additional 25 stores selling the MoonSwatch in July and August, including new locations in Switzerland, Thailand, Malaysia and the U.S.

    It will also roll out 11 flexible retail locations during the summer to sell the 11 different MoonSwatch models.

    [​IMG]
    Customers queue outside a Swatch store at the launch of the MoonSwatch in London, UK.
    Photographer: Yui Mok/PA Image/Getty I
    It’s also helped bring new customers to Omega’s luxury-priced models, which include the Seamaster and Constellation family of watches.

    “What they did with the Swatch version of the Moonwatch was genius,” Brian Duffy, the chief executive of retailer Watches of Switzerland, said in an interview. “It has undoubtedly positively impacted sales demand.”

    Swatch has been pushing to increase production of the MoonSwatch at facilities in Switzerland. The process is largely automated and some plants are running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Hayek said. He wouldn’t provide specific production numbers for the MoonSwatch, or how many have been sold.

    Oliver Mueller, a Swiss-based consultant at Luexconsult in Aubonne, Switzerland, who tracks the watch industry, estimates that about 150,000 MoonSwatch models have been sold since the launch.

    (Updates with industry estimate in final paragraph. A previous version of this story was corrected to adjust the increase of sales in the first paragraph.)

    The frenzy for the MoonSwatch has revived interest in the Swatch brand, according to Hayek, particularly with younger consumers who didn’t see the marque as the cool provocateur that previous generations may have.
     
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  20. SpeedyPhill Founder Of Aussie Cricket Blog Mark Waugh Universe Jul 30, 2022

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    :coffee:
    Of course with a small budget of 250, for an item which appears to be unavailable, customers immediately go for another item of the same brand which actually costs 40x or even 75x more (321 Ed White)...
    Where there initial budget wouldn't even buy a strap (NATO = 300, leather = 520)
    :D
     
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