Timely fashion
By Gretel Hunnerup
With luxuries like excess embellishment and fancy functions, desirability is a big factor in the fashion watch market. But as GRETEL HUNNERUP reports, these styles will still stand the test of time.
Now is a busy time for the pretty Swiss city of Basel. Tourists are outnumbering locals, hotels are booked solid, and everyone knows it has little to do with the spring weather or the art. The crowds comprise of the world's leading designers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of watches; they're all in town ahead of Baselworld, the biggest and most famous watch industry trade show on the globe.
Fashion trends seem to exert a greater influence over watch sales with every passing year, so it's no surprise that much of the 160,000m2 exhibition space will be dedicated to fashion watches.
Consumers already know that wristwatches are no longer needed, when they can check the time on virtually anything from their laptops to their mobile phones.
A watch is simply an accessory these days, serving more as a pierce of adornment than a functional object.
And most wearers are more concerned with its looks and design as a consequence.
"Consumers are definitely watch wardrobing," InSync watch editor Keith Strandberg told Jewelry Quorum International following his visit to Baselworld last year. "They buy what they like, not necessarily what they need. Since most people already have their classical or traditional watch, they are now looking for something different and fun."
Those in the watch industry are well aware of this popularity surge in the fashion category, and they're coming to the party by providing a plethora of fresh designs for men and women at affordable price points.
Some of these styles will star at Basel, and it's only a matter of time before they then appear in the Australian fashion watch market. But retailers don't really need to fly to Switzerland to pick the hot-sellers for Australia's coming spring/summer season when home-grown suppliers already know what's on the cards and are happy to provide an early peek.
When it comes to 2007, trends are bigger than ever, literally, with watches of colossal proportions for both men and women showing no signs of wavering.
"Oversize faces and cases are hugely popular across the board," Annemiek Ballesty says about the twenty-one fashion watch brands she oversees at Fossil Australia. "They're so large that some of them wouldn't fit on my wrist. I'd say this will definitely continue through until at least Christmas."
Diesel, in particular, is teaming the giant cases with leather bands to create a rock 'n' roll vibe, Fossil is using size to show-off vintage-looking faces and Emporio Armani is promoting class on a large-scale.
The phenomenon is also dominating the watch range at Guess, according to the company's Australian brand manager Elizabeth Thompson: "Our watches have been steadily growing in size over the last couple of years and the larger look is not going to stop," she says. "It's all about having a noticeable metal 'statement' watch for women and men. The sporty styles for men will simply get bigger, and in the ladies watches we're going to see more horizontal case shapes so that women can accommodate really big faces on their wrists."
So desirable are hubcap-sized cases that women have been resorting to buying men's watches lately. It's been happening at Guess, Classique, and particularly at the relatively new US brand Marc Ecko, where it's not unusual for women to opt for 42mm case diameters.
"The men's styles are actually preferred by women in the market for an Ecko watch," says Marc Ecko brand manager, Melissa Noad. "They want to wear something that literally stands out, so we are working to create feminine-looking watches with gent's case sizes."
A hefty case is tipped to be the only trend shared by men's and women's watches during 2007. Men and women look for completely different features when purchasing a fashionable timepiece - women tend to be concerned purely with a timepiece's superficial appearance, while men are most interested in the functionality of its design, both inside and out.
Gender-neutral watches simply aren't selling in large numbers, according to Seiko marketing manager Stuart Smith: "There is an occasional crossover, where women will buy men's watches, but we don't find unisex looking watches a success and I suspect the other brands find the same."
For this reason, many companies are bypassing unisex designs to produce pieces that are highly feminine or masculine in appearance and function.
Perhaps the most obvious development in the men's category is the movement towards powered watches, enjoying a huge revival at the moment.
"The old wind-up watches are everywhere in Europe," agrees Steve Der Bedrossian at Classique. "They're so popular that we've ordered some movements and they can't guarantee any delivery in 2007. So this area of old-style mechanics is where we're going to concentrate on into the next year."
Smith from Seiko offers a couple of explanations for the flourishing trend.
"It's the tradition and heritage of the mechanical movement that appeals to men," he says. "I think it's also because men like to feel they are driving the power of the watch."
Due to the intricate workmanship involved in constructing one, mechanical watches have long been placed within the luxury watch category, but Guess has come up with an affordable way to tap into the trend.
The brand has just finished crafting a line of skeleton watches which, while appearing to have the intricate parts of a mechanical watch, are actually run on batteries.
"They are for men who want the mechanical look but not necessarily all the technology that comes with it," Thompson explains, and indeed these are expected to sell well.
But for the man looking for interactivity in a fashion watch, fancy gadgetry is the next best thing.
Special features are on the men's watch agenda for the coming season, with a gamut of brands clamouring to flaunt their newest functions.
Watches that are powered by the motions of the wearer's arm have been around for decades, but now fashion brands like Fossil, Dreyfuss, Emporio Armani and Marc Ecko are beginning to capitalise on the desire for functionality by offering their own takes on the "automatics" also.
Watch-specific brands are also forging ahead with their own innovative and novel features. Scandinavian timepiece maker Skagen is introducing dual time-zone complications into its range, while Maxum is bringing tide tracking technology into the fashion price point with its Waverider collection.
And at Seiko, the watches with chronographs, water resistance and little sub-dials with timers will continue to sell the best, highlighting the male consumer's love of gadgetry.
None of this has anything to do with lifestyle. Very few men who buy function-laden watches actually require them for deep sea fishing or mountain climbing adventuring all that often, but are drawn to the watches by their universal love of toys.
Following this trend, watches with a rugged and active look are expected to fare well also, as Zodiac and Breil get sporty with more rubber, stainless steel and hardy bezels, and Seiko pushes its Sportura collection featuring racing car material carbon fibre.
Meanwhile, things couldn't be more different over at the female camp, with ladies screaming out for more glitz.
"There used to be specific timeframes for buying glitzy watches, like Christmas, but now they're bought all year round," Thompson says. "Glitz is now okay any time of the day. It's the mainstay of all our best sellers for women and it's not going away."
Diamond-encrusted watches may not match everyone's budget, but plenty brands have found a way to address the female fascination for shiny wares at the lower price points.
Guess and D&G for example, will continue to push watch collections incorporating sparkling Swarovski crystals studded around the perimeter of the face, and Skagen is putting a little more glamour into its goods by using sparingly-set Swarovksi crystals as a highlight.
Marc Ecko, on the other hand, is a brand built on bling and preparing many more ostentatious designs for the coming season such as bold, stone-set cases and straps for women and crystals for men.
Marc Ecko's current best-seller for men, The Masterpiece, allows the wearer to dress the watch up with a heavily-embellished crystal bezel, or down with a more conservative interchangeable option. The brand will also appeal to the youth market with a massive case featuring a crystal-studded rhino that can be worn on the wrist or on a heavy neck chain.
Some in the watch industry believe the consumer's obsession for bling is reaching tipping point, but for the coming year at least, most agree it's here to stay.
For those who think bling is the same ol' thing, gold is set to assume the mantle as "new black" in 2007 - already it's in handbag trimmings, on heels and in belts.
"Gold's been quite strong for a year now," Thompson explains, "usually it will wean down and silver will take over, but this is just not happening. It will become even stronger into the summer because the whole gold accessory and neutral palette thing will be going on. And it will be even stronger into the summer because it looks great with a tan."
Manufacturers are also going for gold because it complements the vastly popular brown and bronze ion-plating in fashion watches at the moment.
Expect gold to star in pretty much every fashion watch range for the coming season, with Michael Kors and Guess generating chunky yellow gold-plating, Skagen and Ecko dabbling in rose gold, and Classique working with two-tone styles.
Watches that take on the appearance of jewellery will define much of the women's market during the warmer months. The emphasis here is not on having a watch, but on having a great looking piece of jewellery that has the added benefit of keeping the time.
Marc Jacobs is going down this path with a charm-style necklace that features a watch case alongside cherries and pears. Guess is attaching multiple chains in gold and silver to cases; Marc Ecko is fashioning a bracelet watch with interlinking gold hoops; D&G is to conceal a watch face within a dainty silver chain for the wrist.
Of course some of the information above is old news for retailers: men's watches with extra functions and sporty looks have been on the scene for a while now, and feminine glamour is the established look of choice for women. But the vast majority of designers, manufacturers and suppliers in Australia agree these trends will maintain wrist-share for seasons to come.
"Brands will always introduce new and highly specific styles for short time periods," Thompson explains, "but sweeping trends tend to stick around for a while."
Watches have come into their own as a fashion accessory. These timepieces tell not only the time, but also a little about the wearer, and this principle will drive fashion watch trends into the New Year. One thing is clear for the coming season - dull, sensible watches will be gathering dust on the shelves, while timepieces that interact or shimmer will fly out the door.
Timing yourself: tips on stocking and selling watches
The lines between the two might be blurring further, but watches are still regarded as separate from jewellery. As such, the rules for stocking and selling timepieces are different. Here are some basic tips for successful fashion watch sales.
Place fashion watches away from budget watches and those in the luxury category
"I find that when fashion watches are presented next to non-fashion watches they are generally doomed for failure, and this is because the retailer hasn't created a point of difference as a specialist in fashion watches," says Annemiek Ballesty, managing director, Fossil Australia. "We believe it is vital to merchandise fashion watches together."
Use fashion watch displays to tell a story
"The most effective way to show your product is to present them in themed groups or stories," Ballesty says. "We might do a gold story, a brown ion-plating story, a gent's or ladies' story or a story focusing on big watch faces. Ultimately, we model displays on that retailer's customer profile."
Know what makes each brand unique
Watches are about making a statement. A customer will purchase a watch if it resonates with their identity, and therefore it is vital for sales staff to understand the history and the intricacies of each style to enable a quick fit for watch and wearer. A boy wearing hip-hop gear would probably go for the blinged-up look and US-roots of a Marc Ecko watch, for example. Understanding this saves money and time.
Posted April 01, 2007