!#7# Insight to the Status Quo of Watch Market and Chinese Impulse Buying

!±8± Insight to the Status Quo of Watch Market and Chinese Impulse Buying

The Chinese watch brand Fiyta gave up the plan of directed additional shares as its share price has been lower than the issue price, suffering from the global financial crisis. Meanwhile, some Swiss luxury watch brands open more new branches in China and other countries.

"Pursue no optima; but the most expensive"- the typical consumer psychology has been fully expressed in luxury watch selling. The special law of value on luxuries consumption causes totally different situations for small brands and big brands under the financial crisis.

This article has more say on the status quo of watch industry. The impact of financial on watch cost above 300,000 RMB is the smallest. According to the famous Hongkong watch collector Mr Yonglin Zhong, the financial crisis has certain impact on watch industry. However among luxury goods, watch industry suffers smallest impact. As far as he knows, from October last year to February the years, the overall luxury watch sales decreased by 20%, the sales of luxury cars dropped by 50% to 60%, and the sales of yachts, in particular, dramatically slumped.

Mr. Yonglin Zhong holds the opinion that, the main reason behind luxury watch suffers less is that the output of luxury watch is relatively small to meet the demand of market. What is more, the luxury watch normally can hold its value in second-hand market. Luxury watch consumers who can buy a watch costs more than 300,000RMB will not change their consumption habit just because of financial crisis. Their buying behavior comes from their appreciation and love to watches. Those who buy watches with less than 100,000 unite price will not change their consumption psychology. In the case, the consumer group that suffer greatest from financial crisis should be the buyers like watches cost 100,000 RMB to 300,000 RMB These consumers attach great importance to investment and appreciation.

One scholar holds that watches today are the fusion of timing function, conspicuous function and value-keeping. Under the financial crisis, the conspicuous function is left aside while the value-keeping function is given greater importance. Except gold, the high-end watches made of precious metals or paved with diamonds, as the collecting items of stable value, now find favor of consumers. That is why watches of higher value now are highly sought after. The consumption level of fashion watches,on the other hand, will go down obviously. According to the data from Swiss Watch Federation, the Swiss export volume decreased by 22.4% in Feb,2009. The export volume of watches above 3000 Swiss francs was in smallest decline in 6.6%. Meanwhile, the export volume of watches between 500 to 3000 Swiss francs slumped by 50%.

Minor Watch Brands Face Severe Threat Under Financial Crisis

Some watch brands have to make some adjustments in marketing strategy. Some brands cut the sales points by 5% to 10%. The marketing promotion is not as aggressive as before. However, Longines Vice CEO who takes charge of Longines business and marketing in mainland China said that, when accepting an interview, the financial crisis did not affect Longines sales in China while it did great harm to its market in America. From Jan to May, Longines still enjoyed increased sales compared with the same period of last year. Longines has not cut any sales points nor promotion budget in China since the financial crisis. On one hand, Longines has regarded China as the most important market since 2003. On the other hand, consumers become more prudent under financial crisis and tend to buy those cost-effective watches from traditional brands. Therefore, those new watch brand developed by some famous clothes brands or jewelry brands suffer greater impact. Some of them even close down.

In the near future, more independent brands, especially those minor brands, will go to the arms of big financial groups for better shelter. It is believed by many that big groups of diverse products and brands can better resist risks. The Swatch Group, for example, having an extensive brand line that covers high-end, mid-priced and low priced watches, can handle itself in all situations by shifting risks among products in different layers. According to the 2008 annual report of Swatch group, the profit only decease by 2.7%.

Impulse Buying Attracts Luxury Watch Brands to Open Chinese Market

At present, lots of Chinese luxury watch consumers just want to show off. They know little about the brand concept. Not a few just rush to buy after watching a advertisement. Western luxury watch buyers normally put brand tradition, values and family inheritance on the same par. If the grandfather is the faithful consumer of certain brand, then his son and grandson are likely to love the same brand. In another word, in western world, luxury watch consumption is related to deep culture rather than being a simple and quick consumption behavior. It takes a long time to build up watch culture.

The luxuries consumption habit in certain areas of China is called Northern Consumption. The Northern people, not like calculating Hongkong people, normally tend to impulse-buying. For example, in a period when the supply Rolls-Royce car was quite tight in mainland China, a rich man said to the dealer: " I can add 500,000 RMB to the original price if you sell me a car. " That is the many reason that many luxury watch brands try to develop Chinese market. But some famous watch lovers think different. They do not think Chinese consumers have impulse-buying behaviors. While many luxury watch consumers aim to make investment or enrich personal collection, Chinese tend to gift consumption and self-award consumption. It is a tough world. To buy luxury goods is a good way to to pamper yourself.