The announcement from Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek was clear: no more watch trade fairs. But what are the in-house brands Blancpain and Breguet doing at the Geneva Watch Days?
When Nick Hayek makes a decision, he usually sticks to it. This also includes the step of no longer taking part in watch fairs. Until 2018, the Swatch Group was the largest exhibitor at the Basel watch fair. But the arrogance of the organizers increasingly got on Hayek’s nerves: He demanded innovative concepts and more say, but the trade fair management always presented the exhibitors with a fait accompli. He turned his back on “Baselworld” and justified this by saying that such traditional trade fairs that take place once a year were no longer practical for his company.
A lot has changed in the trade fair landscape since then. “Baselworld” is history. The Basel trade fair had to close its doors in 2021 because, after the Swatch Group, the other major watch manufacturers had enough of the management there.
Instead, the Watches and Wonders trade fair was created in Geneva in 2022 from the former Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). Everything should be different here: The trade fair is not organized by a trade fair organizer, but by the watch industry itself. The big brands and a foundation founded by Rolex, Patek Philippe and Richemont are responsible for this.
Only one person remained on the sidelines: Nick Hayek didn’t want to take part in this trade fair either. Since the launch of Watches and Wonders, organizers have been hoping that Hayek will reconsider his decision. Jean-Frédéric Dufour, the president of the fair and CEO of Rolex, and his colleagues from Patek Philippe and Richemont even went personally to Nick, Nayla and Marc Hayek in Biel to convince the family to take part in the joint industry trade fair.
But without success. Hayek stuck to his opinion. When asked at the Swatch Group’s annual media conference last March, he said that such “beauty contests” like Watches and Wonders were not for the industrially oriented Swatch Group.
All the more surprising was the announcement that recently came from another industry event: the Geneva Watch Days. It says that this year Breguet, Blancpain and Glashütte Original “supported the joint effort to make the beautiful art of watchmaking shine with special animations in their boutiques”. Translated, this means: The Swatch Group’s luxury watch brands are taking part in the next Geneva Watch Days, which will take place at the end of August. And not just in passing, as the report suggests. The website now lists Breguet and Blancpain as main sponsors alongside Bulgari and Breitling.
So has Nick Hayek changed his mind after all?
What is certain is that this much smaller industry meeting is more in line with the taste of the Swatch Group boss than the luxurious Watches and Wonders. As a participant, you also receive no instructions as to how and where you should exhibit. Most manufacturers rent hotel suites in downtown Geneva, while others who have on-site boutiques use these. There is a common tent at the lake in which watches from all participating brands are exhibited and presentations and panel discussions take place, but otherwise each brand organizes itself independently.
Nevertheless: a trade fair is a trade fair, and a change of opinion by the CEO of the Swatch Group is surprising. But maybe it’s not Nick Hayek who gave in. Maybe it is his nephew Marc Hayek who made this decision. After all, it is “his” brands that are taking part in Geneva: Nayla Hayek’s son is responsible for the Swatch Group’s three luxury watch brands.
Nick Hayek confirms the assumption upon request. «Marc made this decision. He wanted to show that as a watch brand you can take part in an industry event without setting up expensive pavilions. This is entirely in line with the Swatch Group’s approach.” However, the CEO of the Swatch Group cannot explain why Breguet and Blancpain are the main sponsors of the Watch Days. There is no long-term obligation behind participation.