The
Swatch Group Ltd. is a Swiss company among the biggest watch
manufacturer in the world (about 25% of sales). It owns some of
the most famous and fine brands of watches in the history of watchmaking
(Breguet,
Blancpain,
Omega,
Jaquet-Droz). It was formed in 1983 through the merging of
the two Swiss watch manufacturers ASUAG and SSIH, and took its present
name in 1998.
The
Swatch Group formed from two financially troubled predecessor
companies. SSIH originated in 1930 with the merger of the Omega
and Tissot
companies. Swiss watch quality was high, but new technology such
as the Hamilton
Electric watch introduced in 1957 and the Bulova
Accutron tuning fork watch introduced in 1961 presaged increasing
high technology competition.
(Continued
below)
|
Swatch
Watches
Reviews, Profiles & Articles
|
|
|
In
the late 1970's SSIH became insolvent due in part to a recession
and in part to heavy competition from inexpensive Asian made quartz
crystal watches. These difficulties occurred even though it had
become Switzerland's largest and the world's third largest producer
of watches. Its creditor banks assumed control in 1981. ASUAG, formed
in 1931, included the Longines
and Rado
brands. ASUAG was the world's largest producer of watch movements
but failed similarly in 1982. SSIH and ASUAG were reorganized and
merged into ASUAG-SSIH Holding Company in 1983, then taken private
by CEO Nicholas Hayek in 1985, and renamed SMH in 1986, and ultimately
Swatch Group in 1998.
The launch of the new Swatch brand in 1983 was marked by
bold new styling and design. The quartz watch was redesigned for
manufacturing efficiency and fewer parts. This combination of marketing
and manufacturing expertise restored Switzerland as a major player
in the world wristwatch market.
Swatch
was originally intended to re-capture entry level market share lost
by Swiss manufacturers during the aggressive growth of Japanese
companies such as Seiko
in the 1960s and 1970s, and to re-popularize analog watches at a
time when digital watches had achieved wide popularity. The launch
of the new Swatch brand in 1983 was marked by bold new styling
and design. The quartz watch was redesigned for manufacturing efficiency
and fewer parts. This combination of marketing and manufacturing
expertise restored Switzerland as a major player in the world wristwatch
market. Synthetic materials were used for the watch cases as well
as a new ultra-sonic welding process and the assembly technology.
The number of components was reduced from some 100 to 51, with no
loss of accuracy[citation needed].
Swatch Concept
In
light of the economic state of the Swiss watch industry at the time
of the introduction of the Swatch, its directors understood
that it was not enough to offer a good watch. The watches needed
to be attractive, cheeky and good fun, daring in design and aggressively
priced, with high quality and innovative flair. The Swatch watches
were high-tech and came in a variety of fashion and art designs.
Derivation of the Swatch
Name
The
name "Swatch" is often misconstrued as a contraction
of the words "Swiss Watch", but Nicolas Hayek, the Chairman
of the Swatch Group, affirms that the original contraction was "Second
Watch" -- the new watch was introduced with a new concept of
watches as casual, fun, and relatively disposable accessories.
The First Swatch Collection
The
first collection of 12 Swatch models was introduced on March
1, 1983 in Zürich, Switzerland. Sales targets were set to 1
million timepieces for 1983 and 2.5 million the year after. With
an aggressive marketing campaign and a very reasonable price for
a Swiss-made watch, it gained instant popularity in its home market.
Compared to conventional watches, a Swatch was 80% cheaper
to produce by fully automating assembly and reducing the number
of parts from the usual 91 or more to only 51 components.
Swatch Popularity
Swatches
enjoyed their peak popularity in the United States and elsewhere
during the mid-1980s. Such 80s fads included wearing two Swatches
and using a Swatch as a ponytail band. Some models, like
Pop Swatch, allowed wearers to attach Swatches directly to clothing.
During this same time, Swatch introduced the idea of partnering
with noted artists, including Keith Haring and others. Artist watches
gave a new cachet to what had previously been a trendy youth article.
Swatch as Fashion Statement
Also
in the mid-1980's, mainstream Swatch fashion statements came
about in the rising hip-hop scene with the introduction of various
colored and interchangeable watch faces and wrist bands (made of
vinyl). Colors included bright, day-glow and pastels. The key standard
accessory was the so-called "face-guard", a braided rubber-band
like "twistie" that would stretch over the watch face.
A good number of "Swatchies" sported two face guards (one
horizontal, one vertical). Whether or not these "guards"
really protected the watch face from breaking and/or scratching
remains to be addressed.
Swatch Produced Luxury Brands
Although
sales of Swatch watches are now considerably lower than in previous
years, the Swatch Group remains the world's largest watch company,
and the Group has accelerated its acquisition of Swiss luxury brands
in recent years. These brands include: Breguet,
Blancpain,
Jaquet Droz, Glashütte Original, Union Glashütte, Léon
Hatot, Omega,
Rado,
Longines,
Tissot,
Calvin Klein, Certina, Mido, Pierre Bal-main,
Hamilton,
Flik Flak and Endura.
Swatch Diversified Offerings
Swatch
itself has also diversified its offerings considerably, and the
company now sells more than a dozen different types of watches,
including metal-bodied watches (the Irony series), diving
watches (the Scuba series), thin and flat bodied watches
(the Skin family) and even an Internet-connected watch that can
download stock quotes, news headlines, weather reports, and other
data (the Papparazzi series).
They
have now become fashionable objects, generating specialized models
(the "Flik-Flak" for children, semi-automatic movements,
and even diamond-decorated Swatches). The company also produces
watches with seasonal themes.
Swatch as Official
Sporting Timekeepers
Swatch
was official timekeeper to the 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer
Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics.
The
Swatch and FIVB (the International Volleyball Federation)
signed the partnership deal in Lausanne, Switzerland on Feb. 27,
2003. Swatch became title sponsor for the Beach Volleyball World
Tour.
Swatch,
being quite experienced in the field of innovations, has provided
FIVB with financial support as well as timing and technical innovations,
with the electronic scoreboards supply and speed of service measurements
among many others.
Through
its international partnership with FIVB, Swatch supports
the growth of public and media interest in beach volleyball, appreciated
worldwide as one of the most rapidly developing summer sports. As
the company has continuously maintained links with the world of
sports, the global sponsorship agreement with FIVB became another
important step in that involvement.
Swatch
has participated in all beach volleyball events through establishing
points of sales and organizing merchandising activities. As part
of the partnership, the company has also developed the Beach Volleyball
Swatch watch.
