Ah yah..., the sweet smell of spring brings new beginnings. The new beginnings, like every other spring means the start of the 'only' real watch and jewellery show where over 60% of the luxury goods industry congegrates to view and explore new opportunities.
This will be a very interesting year in terms of seeing how my favorite "watch players" tackle the weak North American market while across the ocean foreign markets see exponential growth. As a buyer myself, I can tell you that with inventories at historic highs and the lack of turnaround, dollars will be tight and wholesalers will finally feel the squeeze. The squeeze will be the same one which we have been feeling since late fall 2007 and buyers will finally be able to call the shots rather then our ''partners'' (which are more like enemies since they usually dictate product assortment in some way or form).
I have already obtained leaked product from some of the watch companies but I promised I would wait till the show opens to share them with the public. So far in the low to middle-end segment nothing really hit me. Perhaps, manufacturers should get more feedback from industry insiders like us before hand.
This will be a very interesting year in terms of seeing how my favorite "watch players" tackle the weak North American market while across the ocean foreign markets see exponential growth. As a buyer myself, I can tell you that with inventories at historic highs and the lack of turnaround, dollars will be tight and wholesalers will finally feel the squeeze. The squeeze will be the same one which we have been feeling since late fall 2007 and buyers will finally be able to call the shots rather then our ''partners'' (which are more like enemies since they usually dictate product assortment in some way or form).
I have already obtained leaked product from some of the watch companies but I promised I would wait till the show opens to share them with the public. So far in the low to middle-end segment nothing really hit me. Perhaps, manufacturers should get more feedback from industry insiders like us before hand.
