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At five points in the past 500 million years, life on Earth was almost completely wiped out. We are now on the brink of a sixth mass extinction, and we are the cause. Can humans right their wrongs? The luxury industry must lead by example.
An influx of capital ends a year marked by a boom in sales at auction and on the pre-owned market as watches take on a new role as investment products.
It is no secret that 2016 has been a tough year for the Swiss watch industry, with companies issuing profit warnings that unambiguously predict no immediate end in sight for the slump.
Executives from Cartier, Audemars Piguet and MB&F came to the 8th Forum de la Haute Horlogerie to explain their business model in what is currently a hostile environment for watchmakers. While each has distinct characteristics, they all share the virtue of keeping their brands in the black.
According to the latest Bain & Co report, watches are the personal luxury goods that will most suffer this year. The segment is forecast to lose 8% compared with a 1% drop overall for a category worth a total €249 billion in 2016.
Deloitte has called its 2016 study of the Swiss watch industry "Navigating through stormy waters", and this latest insight reveals a situation that is far from plain sailing. Over 80% of the executives surveyed are pessimistic about the outlook for the coming twelve months; that's twice as many as last year.
Speaking at its recent conference, CEO Tim Cook ranked Apple second in worldwide watch sales, just behind Rolex. Although the event revealed little in the way of figures, one thing is for sure: the invasion of the smartwatch has yet to come.
Watchmakers may feel they need eyes in the back of their head if they are to keep tabs on Hong Kong while not letting Uncle Sam out of their sight, particularly since the United States has become the main market for Swiss watch exports, and looks set to hold on to this position for the remainder of 2016.
