Rolex and others to leave Basel and hold their own trade fair

FEATURES Other Information

2020.04.15

Chopard Tudor Patek Philippe Rolex

　On April 14, 2020, the Foundation for Haute Horlogerie (FHH) announced that five brands - Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard and Tudor - would be leaving Baselworld and co-hosting the watch fair with the FHH.

Masamasa Hirota (Kronos Japan): Text
Text By Masayuki Hirota (Chronos-Japan)

　The new fair will be held at the Palexpo in Geneva, where Watches & Wonders Geneva (formerly SIHH) is also held. It will take place in early April 2021, the same time as Watches & Wonders Geneva (formerly SIHH). The FHH gave the following reasons for its withdrawal:

"This departure is one of several unilateral decisions made by Baselworld management without consultation, including the postponement of the watch show until January 2021, which does not meet the needs and expectations of brands."

　In response, the MCH Group, which operates Baselworld, issued the following statement on the same day:

"The MCH Group is extremely surprised and disappointed by the cancellations of the major exhibitors at Baselworld. The new schedule following the unavoidable postponement of Baselworld 2020 was decided jointly with the major exhibitors, with the aim of finding the earliest and most appropriate timing for the watch industry in accordance with Covid-19 protocols. Companies currently 'moving to Geneva' (including Rolex) had previously expressed their support for the postponement to January 2021."

　The five companies that announced their withdrawal had booths in Hall 1.0, the heart of Baselworld, and Rolex (including Tudor), Patek Philippe, and Chopard, in particular, had a strong presence as part of the so-called "Big Five" that support Baselworld (the others being the Swatch Group and the LVMH Group). In 2019, the Swatch Group parted ways, and this year the five brands mentioned above will follow suit. Sources estimate that Rolex and Tudor spent more than 30 million Swiss francs on Baselworld in 2017. If the withdrawal of the five brands is confirmed, the MCH Group, which runs Baselworld, is expected to see a revenue loss of around 100 million Swiss francs.

　In response to the withdrawal, French journalist Jean-Philippe Tallot told the Japanese edition of Chronos, "As far as I know, these five brands had been signaling their intention to withdraw for over two years. They weren't opposed to exhibiting at the Watch Salon, but rather to the Baselworld Secretariat." German journalist Gisbert L. Brunner also explained, "The withdrawal was expected, because a certain manufacturer was not happy at all when they heard that Baselworld 2021 would be extended to January, away from Watches & Wonders Geneva."

　The conflict between the organizers and the participating manufacturers was described by Singapore journalist SJX, who said that even the patient Rolex had run out of patience, and continued:

"The decision to postpone Baselworld was made suddenly and publicly before exhibitors were notified. It was exactly what the withdrawing brands described as 'one of those unilateral decisions made without consultation.' So they had no choice but to go."

　The City of Geneva, which co-organizes Watches & Wonders Geneva with the FHH, has been encouraging manufacturers based in Geneva to participate in the Geneva watch fair instead of Basel for several years. However, this was considered impossible because new entries to SIHH required the permission of all existing manufacturers. In fact, a certain manufacturer that recently decided to withdraw from Baselworld was denied permission to participate in SIHH for a long time due to opposition from a member of the Richemont Group.

　If you read the release carefully, you'll see that the five brands will not be participating in Watches & Wonders Geneva, but will "join forces with the FHH to create a new watch fair." This statement suggests that the manufacturers who had already joined Watches & Wonders Geneva were not necessarily happy about the five brands leaving Baselworld. It can be inferred that they were therefore forced to come up with the name of a new fair. However, depending on the FHH's response, it is possible that the new fair could be absorbed into Watches & Wonders Geneva in the future.

　Following the FHH announcement, the share price of MCH Group, which operates Baselworld, fell by approximately 7.3% on April 14, 2020.