Coronavirus Effect On Watch Industry Sales & Marketing

The Coronavirus is taking a drastic toll in Swiss watch sales and marketing – and here’s why we think it could be a good thing.

March 10, 2020

Today, we’re diving into the drastic toll that the Covid-19 Coronavirus is taking on the watch world, and why that might actually have an unexpected bright side.

Let’s start off with watch sales. Hong Kong and China are the 1st and 3rd most important markets for the Swiss watch industry. They’re essentially the lifeblood of the modern watch industry, in many ways, and with the virus having originated in that part of the world, these areas are practically ghost towns. Malls are empty, shopping centers barren, and all of this translates to, essentially, a big fat zero for the Swiss. As the virus continues to spread, these kinds of freezes may well extend into other markets, and in so doing, might create even wider impacts.

When we talk about the impact of the Coronavirus on marketing efforts, it’s impossible to ignore the two biggest examples of this – the cancellations of Baselworld 2020 and Watches & Wonders Geneva (formerly known as the SIHH). The last time Baselworld was cancelled was in the 1940s, at the onset of the Second World War, and it’s clear how necessary a choice that was. These shows, regardless, have been the hubs of news and launches and coverage and opinion for decades, but as the culture of the watch world shifts to places like YouTube and Instagram, have the shows become a bit antiquated?

For the rest of the calendar year, brands rely on direct communication with the major publications they pander to at trade shows for access to new releases so they can be launched or covered effectively, and really, if nothing else, this might show some of the stalwart brands out there, like Rolex, Tudor, and Patek Philippe, that they don’t actually NEED Baselworld in order to make their releases count for something, or make them special.