Swiss Watches: In Love with USA, but for How Long?
Swiss and watches: it all started in Geneva in 1541, just after Christopher Columbus discovered America. Geneva watches were already reputed for high quality, and watchmakers exported their productions in one market: the World. No much has changed since then: craftsmanship, high technologies and permanent innovation still give Swiss watches an extra edge.
The United States of America is the largest importer of Swiss watches totaling accounted for 2,076 million $ of imports of Swiss watches in 2006, representing 16.6 percent of the total Swiss Exports.
Why are they so expensive? Simply because a Swiss watch takes value with time. It's an investment, not something you're going to get ride of. You're going to pass it on to your children…if you manage to get it fixed when some parts break as time goes by.
If you ever have experienced the hassle of getting a Swiss watch fixed, you probably know what I mean. It will not take weeks to get it fixed, but months! Even to change such a simple part like a bracelet, it’s going to take months. There aren’t any other luxury goods in the World with such a poor service. A Swiss watch selling price range anywhere from $300 to $40,000, and up... Do you know any other product at this price range without a superior service behind?
Luxury goods must have a superior service not just during the time of the sales, but for after sales as well. So far, the Swiss watch industry got away with it: premium price, no service. There is no excuse whatsoever: in any other products or industries, there is a proposal in case something goes wrong:
-Your rental car breaks down: they change it
- Air conditioning doesn’t’ work in your 5****home rental in the Bahamas, they fix it.
Nothing like that with Swiss watches and they don’t have anything to offer (Like to give you a spare watch the time yours gets fixed...). You just have to wait and deal with it. Brands are answering this issue by opening their own work shop in the USA to fix watches and cut down the transportation time from Switzerland. The point being that transport takes only 48h from Switzerland to anywhere in the USA with any express air shipping... It really doesn’t make that of a difference over months of waiting time.
It’s almost a marketing school study: premium product with no service at all.
But it might not last. The FH (Federation of Swiss Watch Industry) made the announcement early February of a record seizure of counterfeit watches in Mexico. Not less than 90,000 pieces were seized by the local police supported by officers from the federal investigation agency. If replica watches are so popular (Although illegal), it’s of course a question of price: at a fraction of the price people can get copies of any famous brands. But it might be not only that: there is no service with illegal copy watches, of course, but since there isn’t either service with the original, replica watches are coming closer and closer to the originals.
If the Swiss Watch industry don’t assess and tackle the issue quickly, it could strongly damage the whole industry as people will turn off and go in other directions to shop for watches. American watches are becoming more and more popular, and they come with a minimum of services. The Swiss Industry had nearly 500 years to think about it, time is now running short.
