Closing Time
THE HISTORIC BASELWORLD FAIR IS, UNFORTUNATELY, COMING TO ITS END. RIGA RAMADHAN TRACKS HOW, WHY AND WHAT WENT WRONG
The historic
Baselworld fair is, unfortunately, coming to its end. We delve into the build-up that led to this development and track how, why and what went wrong
Baselworld used to be the most important experience platform for the global watchmaking, jewelry, gemstone and related industries. Building on a tradition started over a century ago, it has become the annual must-attend trade show where discerning buyers, influential media and savvy connoisseurs unite as a community to discover and experience new trends and innovations showcased by top brands first-hand, and share these globally. At one time, over 150,000 visitors from more than 100 countries around the world came to Baselworld to admire innovations presented by 1,500 exhibitors.
However, you have to accept the fact that sometimes certain things will never go back to how they used to be. Last year, I was there on behalf of DA MAN and our sister publication Prestige Indonesia, alongside 3,300 other media representatives—which was slightly down from previous years—when Baselworld closed its doors after six busy days. I was there when Michel Loris-Melikoff, Managing Director of Baselworld, emphasized at the closing press conference that 2019 was a year of transition for Baselworld. I was there when he reported only 520 brands exhibited and 81,200 visitors in total attended the historic fair, 22-percent fewer than in 2018. Above all, it’s safe to say that Baselworld 2019 was already much smaller than previous years’ shows and on top of that, it might also be the last appearance of Baselworld.
WhaT WenT Wrong?
It should be noted that Baselworld has already seen its presence shrink in recent years. After the exodus of Swatch Group back in 2018, followed by Raymond Weil, Corum and Breitling—which then established its own Breitling Summit—as well as Seiko and Grand Seiko, one might argue that there’s one simple reason why this fair was still being kept alive. And that reason is the fact that the mighty Patek Philippe and Rolex, alongside Tudor, Chopard and LVMH Group’s TAG Heuer,
Hublot, Zenith and Bvlgari are still there. As long as they remained, both media representatives and retailers would still have to go to Basel, even if for just a day or two.
And then, the inconceivable happened: the COVID-19 pandemic. At first, after the very successful LVMH Watch Week earlier this year in Dubai, and also considering the socio-economic situation with the growing uncertainty for international travel, Bvlgari decided to cancel its participation in Baselworld 2020 just a couple of weeks before the planned D-Day.
Moreover, Swiss federal authorities eventually issued a ban on large-scale public and private events for health and safety reasons. Consequently, this led to Baselworld postponing its event—which was originally set to start form April 30 to May 5, 2020—and move it all the way to January 28 to February 2, 2021.
THE FINAL BLOW
Baselworld came under fire for its decision to reschedule the event to 2021 without consulting the brands and exhibitors. On top of that, it’s been reported that many exhibitors were unhappy with the refund policy. In an official release, the historic fair stated: “In this challenging environment, Baselworld is very conscious of the stakes for all exhibitors and is absorbing a significant portion of costs due to postponing the show by offering to carry forward 85 percent of the fees for Baselworld 2020 to Baselworld 2021 (the remaining 15 percent will serve to partially offset out-of-pocket costs already accrued). If needed, exhibitors can alternatively request a cash refund which will be of up to 30 percent of the fees, with 40 percent carried forward to Baselworld 2021.”
This decision alone resulted in major disappointment from the exhibitors. Put simply, many of them needed the money they invested in the 2020 fair back. Due to these unilateral decisions made by Baselworld’s management— the show’s postponement until January 2021, options for reimbursement of exhibitors and the trade fair’s alleged inability to meet the brands’ needs and expectations— Patek Philippe, Tudor, Chanel, Chopard and Rolex announced their departure from Baselworld in a joint statement to create a new watch trade show in Geneva with the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie.
The aim of the new show—which will be geared predominantly towards retailers, the press and VIP customers, and will be held early April 2021 at Palexpo, at the same time as Watches & Wonders Geneva—is to offer partner brands the best possible professional platform, applying a shared vision to successfully meet future challenges in the watchmaking industry.
“We have taken part in Baselworld since 1939. Unfortunately, given the way the event has evolved and the recent decisions made by the MCH Group, and in spite of the great attachment we had to this watch show, we have decided to withdraw,” explained Jean-Frédéric Dufour, CEO of Rolex and board member of Tudor.
Meanwhile, Thierry Stern, President of Patek Philippe, noted that as the fourth generation of the Stern family to participate in the traditional yearly event, the decision to leave Baselworld was not an easy one to take. “Today, Patek Philippe is not in line with Baselworld’s vision anymore, there have been too many discussions and unsolved problems, trust is no longer present. We need to answer the legitimate needs of our retailers, the clients and the press from around the world,” added Stern further.
In a chain reaction, the Swiss watch manufactures of the LVMH Group—including the LVMH Watchmaking
“Patek Philippe, Tudor, Chanel, Chopard and Rolex announced their departure from Baselworld in a joint statement to create a new watch trade show in Geneva with the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie”