The SIHH inaugurates its January formula
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Christophe Roulet
Editor-in-chief, HH Journal
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For its 19th exhibition, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) will be held in Geneva from 19 to 23 January 2009. This is the first time that the fair will have been held in winter. Until now it has always been in April and, since 2002, held at the same time as Baselworld. The change of date is in response to two major imperatives.
On the one hand, for reasons to do with next year’s calendar which have been known about for a long time, it was impossible to fit SIHH into April between the International Motor Show and Easter, a moveable feast whose date falls at an awkward time next year. Because the SIHH requires the Palexpo halls to be in use for 32 days for installation, for the duration of the show itself, and for disassembly, the amount of time available was clearly going to be too short. Even if the organisers had opted for keeping the event in April, there would have been a gap of 15 days between SIHH and Baselworld which, in turn, also has to fit in with the programme of works to enlarge the Centre de Foires, which began this autumn and is expected to continue until 2012.
The second major consideration is the commercial constraints faced by the exhibitors. Bringing SIHH forward by three months will give watchmaking companies more time, enabling them to present products which can then be delivered earlier over the course of the year, a considerable advantage in view of the delays we have seen in recent years. For these technical and strategic reasons, therefore, the Exhibitor Committee has decided to hold the exhibition in January, the Exhibitor Committee now (as of 2007) being the sole decision-making body concerning the SIHH, while the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie retains its status as the organiser of the exhibition.
One new exhibitor
For the SIHH 2009, the option taken by the Committee consists of, to some extent, a return to origins, in that emphasis will be placed on the exclusive and selective character of this exhibition which is reserved for professionals, and to which clients and the press are invited as special guests. In fact, the exhibitors considered that the steady increase in the number of visitors year after year has been detrimental to the “welcoming” atmosphere which remains their primary objective. For the record, the 2008 SIHH brought together 16 brands* and was attended by almost 14,000 international visitors, an increase of 8% in relation to the previous year, the visitors representing 2,500 points of sale among the major watchmaking and jewellery companies from across the five continents. The international press also responded in vast numbers, sending no fewer than 1450 journalists to cover the event.
Accordingly, the next SIHH will only have one new exhibitor, the Ralf Lauren Watch and Jewelry Co, a joint venture set up in spring 2007 between the Richemont Group and Polo Ralf Lauren. This new brand will present Haute Horlogerie products created out of the collaboration with specialist companies of the Richemont Group. Without a doubt the Salon de la Haute Horlogerie in January will serve as an indicator of the commercial health of the sector as a whole, in light of the current economic downturn. According to initial information provided by the organisers, in spite of the change of date, all the points of sale, retailers and distribution networks that have been invited by the brands have said that they will be there. There can be no more reliable way to sound out the industry.
A.Lange & Söhne, Alfred Dunhill, Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Girard-Perregaux, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, JeanRichard, Montblanc, Officine Panerai, Parmigiani Fleurier, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin and Van Cleef & Arpels.
