Is the Wristwatch Past Its Time?
Total U.S. watch sales slipped 4.9 percent between 2001 and 2005 to $7.6 billion, says the 2006 U.S. watch and clock market report of Packaged Facts, a product research firm. The report cites cell phones, cable boxes, computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), iPods, and even DVD players as providing “all the time readouts one needs.” It also notes that those products “siphon off” discretionary dollars through monthly use and service payments, leaving less money to spend on watches.
Watches most affected seem to be those priced at $100 or less, and with distribution weighted to teens and young adults—reports last year said sales for some brands popular with young adults fell short of projections.
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Loading ...Patek Philippe, Seiko Get New Presidents for U.S.
Two top watch brands have new presidents for their U.S. operations.
Patek Philippe USA
Larry Pettinelli is the new president of the Henri Stern Watch Agency (also called Patek Philippe USA), the U.S. division and distributor of Patek Philippe, one of the best-known Swiss luxury watch brands in the U.S. market. Pettinelli, a former investment banker, joined the New York City–based company 19 years ago as a sales associate. He had been vice president since 2000.
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Newswire
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Swiss watch exports for 2007 should increase 9 to 10 percent, “which can be considered extraordinary,” predicted
Jean-Daniel Pasche
, president of the
Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH
, in an interview with a Swiss paper in December. He said 2006 was “an excellent year [and a] record year in terms of value [of exports].” He expected the total value of the 2006 exports to top 13 billion francs (about $10.7 billion).
