Swatch Group Leaving Basel

[CGSshorty]

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSL5N1UP07E

[Panerai7]

Yeah that's pretty much over for Basel then. Rolex/Tudor just need their own show and it's done

[rockmastermike]

media has changed drastically (some say catastrophically) over the past few years that companies don't need trade shows....trade shows need them.
A heck of a lot cheaper to do your publicity online than spend millions on a physical set up and tear down for a week.

[bnabod]

Bye bye Basel

[logan2z]

[Steve O.]

Shame. Sad when long standing traditions cease, whatever the cause.

[Sidheguitarist]

50 mil is a lot for a single display.

Wonder where the marketing dollars will move to.

Hopefully not pop-up ads and celeb tie-ins with Ed Sheeran and Macklemore.

[sierra11b]

50 mil is a lot for a single display.

Wonder where the marketing dollars will move to.

Hopefully not pop-up ads and celeb tie-ins with Ed Sheeran and Macklemore.

Hopefully R&D for thinner movements.

[Jcp311]

I wonder how this will affect release schedules for new models.

[sierra11b]

Crazy to think there was a return on that 50mil before. That's ridiculous money right there in any venue but more importantly where there's nothing to be bought.

Me thinks the big online reviewers wallets will be getting fatter. Will be interesting to see how they pitch the Planet Ocean Dennis Rodman/Kim amazing technicolor depleted uranium PO series.

[logan2z]

Me thinks the big online reviewers wallets will be getting fatter.

Yeah, but the guys who do the on-site reporting must be bummed that their annual free trip to Switzerland is getting canned

[sierra11b]

Me thinks the big online reviewers wallets will be getting fatter.

Yeah, but the guys who do the on-site reporting must be bummed that their annual free trip to Switzerland is getting canned

I don't think Basel will be gone next year, but possibly the year after. They'll be forced to renegotiate their outrageous lease now for one more show for the big fish while giving the Yaos of the world an undisclosed-song-of-a-price of entry to make-up for Swatch. The Swiss government, their local hotel and business owners association, and Baselworld officials are no doubt currently scrambling on the phones to make another show somehow, and figuring out how they can move forward. Not sure how it works in Switzerland but as a 7yr employee of Hilton I know their muscle should they roll-up their sleeves.

[ChuckW]

Trade shows for many industries are getting to be untenable, mainly because of lower attendance of buyers. They're expensive to go to and retailers have to take time away from their businesses.

[sierra11b]

Trade shows for many industries are getting to be untenable, mainly because of lower attendance of buyers. They're expensive to go to and retailers have to take time away from their businesses.

I've been to many food shows at Moscone Center and National Restaurant Assc., Chicago. Been with a group or +1 wearing the same Hilton badge which means $$$$ and may as well be Rolex on our chest. I can only think of a couple outlets over the years that we invested in with truly top notch appetizers, otherwise it was a total beer fest and gazing at the model agency women who read a business profile as they entered the facility to run their booths.

[ericf4]

I go to shows like IRCE, Shop.org etc every year and these also seem to be slipping. many are not finding enough ROI anymore it seems. We still exhibit and they are still big shows, but I hear from many others in tech that they are choosing to invest elsewhere.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Grahamcombat]

Trade shows for many industries are getting to be untenable, mainly because of lower attendance of buyers. They're expensive to go to and retailers have to take time away from their businesses.

I've been to many food shows at Moscone Center and Pack, Chicago. Been with a group or +1 wearing the same Hilton badge which means $$$$. I can only think of a couple outlets over the years that we invested in, otherwise it was a total beer fest and looking at the model agency women who read a business profile as they entered the facility.

SHOT Show, for the Weapons industry, is a waste. And I say that having attended SHOT every year since ‘98, as a vendor, as a buyer, and as a looker. The majority of the business is concluded outside of the show: either in the weeks prior or after. I have no idea how companies can continue to spend the money they spend for “average joes” - who aren’t buyers at a level to sustain industry - to wander around.

Why build a booth for $M to be seen by thousands of casual passers by when you can reach millions of people on social media for a thousandth of the cost? Converting 10% of social media to buyers is a greater percentage than 100% of hands on passers by.

The real business at SHOT, for example, happens off the floor in ancillary suites with hands on product time and legitimate purchasing.

It seems - and this is just my opinion from having seen a few of these shows - that it’s really just window dressing. That, or they’d rather spend the money on the show than pay it in taxes.

[dnslater]

50 mil is a lot for a single display.

Wonder where the marketing dollars will move to.

Hopefully not pop-up ads and celeb tie-ins with Ed Sheeran and Macklemore.

Instagram is pretty cheap and a company like Swatch could pay to fly hundreds of reporters to their HQ for a week to debut new releases, wine and dine them on their terms, and only spend a fraction.

[Graeme]

Me thinks the big online reviewers wallets will be getting fatter.

Yeah, but the guys who do the on-site reporting must be bummed that their annual free trip to Switzerland is getting canned

I don't think Basel will be gone next year, but possibly the year after. They'll be forced to renegotiate their outrageous lease now for one more show for the big fish while giving the Yaos of the world an undisclosed-song-of-a-price of entry to make-up for Swatch. The Swiss government, their local hotel and business owners association, and Baselworld officials are no doubt currently scrambling on the phones to make another show somehow, and figuring out how they can move forward. Not sure how it works in Switzerland but as a 7yr employee of Hilton I know their muscle should they roll-up their sleeves.

I dont think Baselworld will be giving away spots for smaller brands, it is very expensive for everyone. One brand I know there spends 30,000 Swiss francs for a table, not a booth just a table. The hotels have been ripping off everyone for ever. It's next to impossible to get a room in Basel for the show and any that are available are at outrageous prices. For the cost of a hotel there for 3 nights I could bring the family to Disney for 2 weeks.

Regards Graeme

[JBZ]

The funny thing is that the two watch brands in the world that arguably don't need a trade show are Rolex and Patek. They're both still in.

[dnslater]

The funny thing is that the two watch brands in the world that arguably don't need a trade show are Rolex and Patek. They're both still in.

Yes, all Basel does for Rolex is extend their wait lists a few more years.

[sierra11b]

There’s some great insider comments on the hodinkee site by one lady who used to be in the business. A much different beast in terms of trade shows im used to.

Seems omega might be comfortable in the formula they’ve fine-tuned while Rolex continues to demand retailers buy two Daytonas for every 20ea women’s datejusts

[Joeprez]

More info on this, including comments from Nick Hayes and Baselworld executives:

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/why-n ... baselworld

(Hayes is wearing an PO and a System 51, right?)

[Steve O.]

Although a little off topic, I've always found Nick Hayek Jr. as, if not more, arrogant than his late father. Regardless of how it bodes for future Basel events, I say good riddance Swatch Group.

[dinexus]

Me thinks the big online reviewers wallets will be getting fatter.

Yeah, but the guys who do the on-site reporting must be bummed that their annual free trip to Switzerland is getting canned

Oh, y'mean I'd be bummed that I'd no longer have the opportunity to stay in a shitty Air BnB with no wifi or towels, get 3 hours of sleep a night for a week, and pay $30 nightly for what would qualify as literally the worst street food in LA or New York?

Yeah. Not gonna miss any of that. Basel is a garbage city.

[logan2z]

Me thinks the big online reviewers wallets will be getting fatter.

Yeah, but the guys who do the on-site reporting must be bummed that their annual free trip to Switzerland is getting canned

Oh, y'mean I'd be bummed that I'd no longer have the opportunity to stay in a shitty Air BnB with no wifi or towels, get 3 hours of sleep a night for a week, and pay $30 nightly for what would qualify as literally the worst street food in LA or New York?

Yeah. Not gonna miss any of that. Basel is a garbage city.

I don't know, doesn't look all bad