The following report generally describes the evolution of the watch category and particularly success story of Swatch over the years. The report starts off by describing the growth of the industry through 4 distinct time epochs. It then goes on to describe the needs and wants of the different types of consumers of wrist watches and what attributes do the consumers value the most in a watch, explained with the help of perceptual maps. Finally, the report describes the challenges faced by the watch category from electronic devices with their own time keeping devices and proposes a marketing strategy to effectively face these challenges.
1. Evolution of the Wrist Watch
1.1. 1800s – 1950
The first wrist watch was invented in late 1800s but it was not until early 1900s that the industrial scale production of the wrist watches begun happening. During this time, the wrist watch was considered to be more a luxury item than a functional tool. Owning a wrist watch was akin to a financial investment and it was not unusual for a wrist watch to change hands from one generation to the other. Assembling a wrist watch was considered a supreme form of art as it entailed having skills of a master jewelry maker, dexterity with micro-mechanics and a very low margin for error. Swiss watch makers, with their years of experience in jewelry making, dominated the industry during this time. Over 80% of all the watch sales in the world and 99% percent of all watch imports into USA were Swiss. There were 2500 Swiss watch making firms and some of the most respected brands of watches in the world were nothing but Swiss. The watch itself consisted of carefully crafted expensive jewels like sapphire and diamonds and high quality metals. Since the wrist watch was inherently costl ...