Most of us don’t think twice about the fact that our cell phones also tell us the time. But if you’re in the business of making and selling wristwatches, it’s all you think about. In 2005, watch sales fell nearly 5 percent, to $7.6 billion. The culprit? Blame the clock built into your mobile phone’s display.
Because of this, many in the watch industry are rethinking their product development and marketing strategies, and executives are increasingly relying on celebrity endorsements to reach their target market in the 18-to-43 generation. An article by Aili McConnon in today’s BusinessWeek says, “watchmakers like Citizen are mounting aggressive print and TV ad campaigns featuring young sports stars such as Emeka Okafor, NBA Rookie of the Year for 2004-2005, and Sasha Cohen, U.S. ladies’ figure skating champion, as ‘unstoppable,’ like its watches.”
New licensing agreements are also popping up. Fossil has a deal with the NFL to do a series for each football team, and Seiko has acquired a license to use the work of Andy Warhol. Contracts like this aren’t new to watchmakers, but they’re strategic importance is growing.
Meanwhile, manufacturers are designing new timepieces that do more than just tell time. (It’s only fair, if cell phones can also be clocks.) BusinessWeek reports that “Nike joined forces with Apple to create a watch that connects to an iPod and heart rate monitor. And Fossil recently launched a Bluetooth watch that communicates with your cell phone and displays incoming phone numbers.”
The long-awaited toaster-oven watch can’t be far behind.
