Swatch Watch U.S.A.
1. Swatch is a unique success story. Why has the company been so successful Was it important that the Swiss watch industry recapture the lower end of the market Why Why not
The Swatch watch was originally intended to re-capture the entry level market share lost by Swiss manufacturers during the aggressive growth of Japane watch companies such as Seiko in the 1960s and 1970s, and to re-popularize analog watches at the 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 experti restored Switzerland as a major player in the world wristwatch market (
The two primary reasons for the success of Swatch is the perfect marketing strategy of the company and the quality and the design of each and every watch they are launching. The company has different varieties of watches for different age of their target customer, and becau of the quality of the product, Swatch watch is no longer just a simple everyday wat
ch but one of the hot collectible items in the world today. The company also makes sure that they have a ries of new watches with different styles for every ason, every special occasion and every event in the world.
The design of the watch is also remarkable, becau of the talented designers the company hires. A customer can choo from a variety of designs that fits his her moods and even culture. That is the reason why the Swatch watch is not only popular in the United State but in the whole world. The watch designers are making sure that every design of every ries will meet the expectation of the customers.
Fine watches were more than great accessories They are investments that can become heirlooms. As one watch manufacturer’s advertising slogan states, you never actually own it; “you merely look after it for the next generation.” That’s why after-sale rvicing of the timepieces is critical to its longevity ( 2003). That is the reason why tho first edition and ries of Swatch watches are now worthy and rare.
Before, Swatches are available in every store and available in affordable price, but now,
it is the opposite. This is due to more than one factor including the artistic design of the Swatch watches like new innovations, marketing strategies and strategic distributions system t up by Swatch Inc. Swatch capitalized on the idea of product line extensions and variations like no other company has. Swatch, Inc. knew that in order to keep its interest up beyond the 80s craze it had to make some changes (
It was important that the Swiss watch industry recaptured the lower end of the market. By doing this, the sales and the industry of the Swiss watch will not die and it will still be visible and available in different stores, and ordinary people with the average income can still experience and u the quality and fashion of the Swiss watch, but if we are going to talk about Swatch recapturing the lower end of the market that will be a far cry from now.
2. Do you e any parallels between the decline of the Swiss watch industry and other Western industries
Asia is becoming active in manufacturing and exporting of their products. China who is now involved in the global manufacturing market and she is beginning to establish and cr
eate the image as the World’s manufacturer. Technology is also part of the experti of Asia; Japan is now one of the most advanced countries in terms of machines and different infrastructures. Most of the products of China are now available in different parts of the globe in very low prices, almost half of the price of products from other countries. However the quality is another topic.
Example of this is the decline of the shoe industry in America in 1992. This is becau of the North American Free Trade Area. Mexico, now, can offer cheaper shoe ware. Becau of this, the production of shoes in America declined about 2 percent from 182 million pairs a year. Slippers declined by 4 percent to 32.6 million pairs; men’s footwear by 3 percent to 42.2 million pairs; and women’s footwear by 3 percent to 59.8 million pairs (Byron, 1992). Becau of the low-cost shoe wear from Mexico, the shoe industry in America decline. This is just like the current situation of the Philippines. Becau of cheap shoes from Korea and China, the shoe industry here began to decline. Most of the time, the conquence of low-cost products is low-quality, becau most of the raw material ud is of low-quality. Other examples are the textile and clothing industry, and if
not becau of the u of technology and marketing strategy, the two industries will never recover.
3. Evaluate the cultural dimension of the Swatch story, taking into account such practices as the willingness of taking into account such practices as the willingness to bring in people from other industries, to delegate authority to younger executives, and to employ new media such as rock concerts and music videos.
Swatch is also connected to events that will convince the people specially the youth to be in sport as well as to promote the culture of a certain place and the people in that place. A great example of this is the connection of Swatch to Olympics. Swatch was the official timekeeper of Olympics 1996, 2000 and 20004. Swatch is also launching new designs of swatch watch every Olympics. This will not only promote the world event, but also promote the culture and the history of the Olympics. This will also show the unity of the world and how the world gathers to promote sport in the world.
