Baselworld not having a good week - official
Following a seismic blow, when five of the biggest names in the global watch industry announced on Tuesday that they would be withdrawing from the Baselworld 2020/21 postponed and rescheduled showcase event, the hits keep on coming for a gravely wounded MCH, organisers of the show.
In the last hour, the odds of even a token Baselworld taking place next year have further shortened dramatically, as it has been dealt another huge and probably terminal blow. Today, LVMH have also announced that their involvement in the city’s largest trade show next year was cancelled, and, like the other brands which share the premium real estate of Halle 1 in the Basel Messe, the LVMH stable of Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith, as well as Bulgari would instead be shifting their focus to setting up shop in the new April scheduled Geneva event, in a incredible horologic coup by and for the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH).
In reality, with the news of the departure of Patek Philippe, Rolex, Chopard, Chanel and Tudor the prospect of the LVMH group’s colossal temporary buildings standing on their own in the vast expanse of Halle 1 did not require much persuasion for them to follow suit.
For all of its faults (in order of importance: the price of everything, the cost and how expensive it all was), Baselworld was still the world’s leading watch industry expo, and being there was a sense of occasion on its own. However MCH have truly handled the discontent and backlash from its own customers, the exhibitors, so badly, and with such alarming detachment from their needs and demands, that very few are mourning this week to see something that had obviously considered itself to be too big to fall, doing exactly that.
Across the city of Basel, and particularly in the hospitality sector, this week’s one-two succession of crippling hammer blows will have businesses reeling. But when many of its most exclusive, five star residents (we’re looking right at you Les Trois Rois) also refused outright to refund the already sky-high rates for its fully booked Baselworld week, then they will not have to travel too far across the plush carpet of their empty foyer to find a large part of the cause.
Basel is a wonderful city, and I have loved every trip I have made to it. I will miss it for sure, but as is the way with us all, I will quickly get used to a new show, with hopefully a sign of an industry moving forward, and next year we will all be saying how good Geneva has been, while Basel and her stakeholders look on forlornly.
The LVMH communiqué
The Swiss watch Manufactures belonging to the LVMH Group, the world leader in luxury, have chosen to leave Baselworld to join the other flagship brands of the Swiss watch industry in Geneva from 2021 onwards.
The Swiss watch Manufactures of the LVMH Group, including the LVMH Watchmaking Division (TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith) and the House of Bvlgari, have taken note of the departure of Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard from the Baselworld show scheduled for January 2021. Within this context of clearly weakened representation of the Swiss watch industry and hence inevitably lower participation, it appears clear to the brands composing the Division and to the House of Bvlgari that they must also withdraw in order to preserve their image and their relations with their clients as well with the media. They will therefore not be taking part in the 2021 edition of Baselworld.
The four Maisons are examining various potential event formats corresponding to the need to present their strategic directions and new products to their commercial partners – as well as to the international press – next year. The LVMH Watchmaking Division on the one hand, and Bvlgari on the other, will decide on their plans in the coming weeks, according to their respective objectives.
Stéphane Bianchi, CEO Watchmaking Division LVMH"We are sorry to have to leave this over hundred-year Baselworld event to which our Maisons have been consistently loyal. It is nonetheless clear that we must respond quickly and make other arrangements. We are facing an opportunity to reinvent the format and content of one of the key moments of our watchmaking year, which represented both a major commercial challenge and a lever of influence for our brands. With this in mind, we will do our utmost to be present alongside the other prestigious Maisons that will gather in Geneva in April 2021, and thereby meet the requirements of our partners and clients while offering them an unrivalled experience.”
Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO Bulgari Group."Grouping the entire Swiss watch industry in a single location, Geneva – the historical capital of watchmaking – and around a single date, is a major opportunity to at last revive a sector that all too many divisions and divergent interests have weakened compared to the rest of the luxury sector in which Bulgari is active and that is making much faster progress. We are looking forward to going to Geneva in April 2021, even though we still need to define the terms of our participation, which we will specify in the coming weeks. We are also delighted not to have to make up for the lack of institutional watch shows, which in 2020 forced us to take tactical initiatives that were necessary in the short term but undesirable in the medium term.”
