Watch Journalist Yasuhito Shibuya's Useful Watch Industry Chat
On June 23, 2021 (Swiss time), Baselworld suddenly announced its return. It initially appeared the world's largest luxury watch and jewelry exhibition would change its name to "Hour Universe" and make a fresh start. However, due to the impact of the COVID-6 pandemic, the event went through many twists and turns before finally announcing its return. Journalist Yasuhito Shibuya examines and explains the circumstances behind the announcement and its outlook.
(Article published on October 9, 2021)
"Our Universe" ended in failure
The watch industry's biggest event is Baselworld, held every spring in Basel, Switzerland's second largest city. It boasts a history of over 100 years, with roots in the watch section of the 1917 Swiss Industrial Exhibition. At its peak, the fair attracted over 2000 exhibitors, including jewelry brands, but it has been two years since it was held. In the summer of 2020, the MCH Group, the event's parent company, announced it would not continue and would instead switch to a new event called "Hour Universe." However, as I reported in a recent column, the MCH Group withdrew its plans for "Hour Universe," and with the announcement on June 23, 2021, Baselworld suddenly rose to life like a zombie.
This time, the first step towards this "revival" will be exhibiting at the Geneva Watch Days, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland from August 30th. Based on the press release on August 10th and the content posted on YouTube during the week, we would like to take a look behind the scenes of this "revival" and look ahead to the future.
To begin with, Baselworld's "lifespan" came to an end last year in the spring of 2020. The countdown began when the world's largest watch company, Swatch Group, which had exhibited 18 watch brands, including Omega, announced its withdrawal after the fair's spring 2018 run. Messe Basel, the organizer, took this as an opportunity to declare a structural reform of the fair, but was unable to convince exhibitors.
Then, in April 2020, the end finally came. On February 28, the decision was made to cancel the fair due to COVID-19 infection prevention measures. At that time, the organizers announced a "postponed" date and conditions for refunding exhibition fees without the exhibitors' permission, which led to fierce opposition from exhibiting brands. On April 14, Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chopard, Tudor, and Chanel announced their withdrawal from Baselworld. LVMH subsidiaries Bvlgari, Hublot, Zenith, and Tag Heuer followed suit, and Baselworld's "lifespan" came to an end.
On July 23, 2020, the MCH Group announced its successor event, Hour Universe. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the spring 2021 event was postponed until summer. Then, on June 23, 2021, the unexpected announcement was made that Baselworld would be returning.
What surprised us was the bold timing of the event, which was set directly against the "Watches & Wonders Geneva (WWG) 2022" event to be held in Geneva in April 2022. It was as if they were provoking people by asking, "Which one will you choose?"
Why did they go back to the original "Baselworld"?
Why did the MCH Group announce the revival of Baselworld at this time and in this situation? Based on my experience as a reporter who has attended the Basel Fair and Baselworld every year from 1995 to 2019, I would like to explain the reasons behind this.
The first reason is that "Our Universe" failed to attract any exhibiting brands. As a result, they decided that they had no choice but to rely on the name recognition of the "signature that has stood the test of time." In order to attract exhibitors to Messe Basel again, they have no choice but to appeal to this heritage (long-standing tangible and intangible values that they want to pass on). To do this, it would be best to remove the new sign that had no track record, "Our Universe." This was a natural decision.
However, the heritage of Swiss watches is not in Basel, but in Geneva. Baselworld has been able to exist thanks to its historical background, which began as an exhibition for the Swiss watch industry, and its location in the center of Europe, which has earned Basel Airport the nickname "EuroAirport."
However, the main reason for the revival of Baselworld is likely the "strong will and desire of the local political and business circles in Basel." Until the 2000s, the MCH Group was a semi-public enterprise, funded by the local canton of Basel-Stadt and the city of Zurich. As such, it has a mission to contribute to the development of local industry. The success and development of the watch fair Baselworld (formerly Basel Fair) and the art fair Art Basel, which began in 1970, have brought a huge economic impact to the local area.
In 2018, private investors invested in the MCH Group and took control of its management. Then, in August 2020, when the decision was made to withdraw major brands and the company found itself in financial difficulty, it received a huge amount of capital in the form of a capital increase from Rupa Systems, an investment company led by James Murdoch, the second son and successor of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
However, according to a company press release issued in December 2020, two representatives from the local canton of Basel-Stadt and one from the city of Zurich still serve on the company's board of directors, and they still hold 33.34% of the group's shares. In other words, while financially it is mostly a private company, public capital and influence have not completely disappeared.
Before the "Hour Universe" concept was announced, Baselworld Managing Director Michel Loris-Melikoff stated in an interview with foreign media, "The new watch fair will not necessarily be held in Basel. Zurich or Lausanne are also possibilities." However, at the same time, there were reports that opinions had emerged within the company that denied this, saying, "It cannot be held anywhere other than Basel." The MCH Group then went to the trouble of issuing a press release denying the rumors, saying, "There are rumors that the MCH Group is planning a Watch Week in Zurich, but this is not true."
