Watch Journalist Yasuhito Shibuya's Useful Watch Industry Chat
On Friday, February 28, 2020, the unfortunate incident that we had feared occurred.
Following the cancellation of WATCHES & WONDERS GENEVA (W&WG), formerly known as the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH, commonly known as the Geneva Salon), the day before, it was announced that BASELWORLD 2020 would not be cancelled but rather postponed.
Baselworld 2020 postponed due to COVID-19
The reason, of course, is the COVID-19 issue. While the number of patients is currently low, unfortunately, the number of infections is on the rise in Switzerland, and the Swiss federal and cantonal authorities of Basel-Stadt have banned the holding of large-scale events, both business and private. Furthermore, the infection is still in the early stages in Switzerland. It is unlikely that these measures will be lifted in April. Construction work for the fair was scheduled to begin at the venue in March. Furthermore, the W&WG, which was scheduled to be held in Geneva, has also been canceled. It seems unlikely that Baselworld will be able to take place at the end of April.
So why is Baselworld 2020 "postponed" when W&WG has been "cancelled"? This choice of words suggests the strong desire of Managing Director Michel Loris-Melikoff and the rest of the Baselworld Secretariat to hold the fair, and their quiet confidence that they want people to see a reborn fair.
The participation of the prestigious auction house Phillips, which I mentioned in this column the other day, is a groundbreaking event that adds a new chapter to the history of watch fairs and makes Baselworld a must-see event for watch enthusiasts.The atelier exhibitions of independent watchmakers' brands in the main hall and the program that allows visitors to experience what it's like to be a watchmaker are also groundbreaking.
Some Japanese watch buyers are not shy about asserting that "new models are presented in Japan in advance and can be ordered, so there is no need for a watch fair held in Switzerland." However, when considering the future of luxury watches in 10 or 20 years' time, after the further spread of smartwatches such as the Apple Watch, a "global watch festival" will surely be necessary.
To be honest, I didn't expect Baselworld to change this much, and I didn't have any expectations. However, this reform and evolution has far exceeded my expectations. Brands that had left the venue, including the Swatch Group, remain, and there is still a lot of criticism, but I didn't expect the organizers to work this hard. That's why I personally wanted the event to go ahead.
By the way, the new dates announced as "postponed" are from Thursday, January 28th to Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021. The press day will be Wednesday, January 27th. As those in the watch industry will be aware, this is the date immediately following the old SIHH in 2019.
The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), organizer of W&WG, has announced that this year's event has been canceled and that preparations are underway for 2021, but has not yet announced the date of the event. However, given that the FHH and the Baselworld Secretariat are in discussions regarding the date of the event, it seems highly likely that W&WG will be held either before or after Baselworld 2021.
The fact that both W&WG and Baselworld would be held together from the end of April to the beginning of May 2020 was unpopular from the start, and this was a major reason why several brands, including Seiko, decided not to exhibit. However, the 2021 dates would be better, even if they are not the best from a business perspective.
This means that in 2020, TIME TO MOVE 2020 (TTM2020), which was scheduled to be held in March by the Swatch Group, and Switzerland's two major watch fairs, have been canceled due to an unexpected enemy: COVID-19. Not only have the fairs been canceled, but the damage to the global watch industry from this infection has been greater than expected. Watch sales continue to slump around the world, especially in countries with a high number of infected people.
In Japan, the consumption tax hike that took effect in October 2019 has caused a significant drop in personal consumption, and stock prices have also plummeted, leading to a serious sales slump. Seiko's "GS Summit," which was to mark the 60th anniversary of Grand Seiko and invite overseas watch journalists, as well as visits by CEOs of famous watch brands who had planned to hold events and interviews in Japan, have also been forced to be canceled or postponed.
However, the spread of COVID-19 will surely subside, and it will undoubtedly be over by the end of January 2021, when the postponed Baselworld is scheduled to take place.
In addition, with watch consumption stagnating worldwide, it has been pointed out that social media and the web are not necessarily effective in promoting luxury watches, and watch fairs and print media are beginning to be reevaluated within the watch industry.
We look forward to seeing the new faces of these two of Switzerland's most iconic fairs, and until next year's event, we will continue to work hard to help as many people as possible understand the appeal of watches.
Shibuya Yasuhito/Shibuya Yasuhito
As an editor of a product information magazine, he began covering Geneva and Basel in 1995. As an editor and writer, he has been there 25 times since then. He is currently planning, covering, editing, and writing about not only smartwatches but also all kinds of things and events other than watches.
