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Baselworld 2015 press Gathering:
• Swiss watch exports increased 1.9% in 2014
• Smart watches & Swiss currency most prominent challenges
Baselworld officially begins today, Thursday 19th of March but Wednesday was the opening press conference for the world’s largest watch and jewelry show. Smart watches were a major focus of the press conference where two of the three speakers said they view the new timepieces as something that can co-exist with the traditional Swiss watch industry. No one viewed it as a threat. Sylvie Ritter, Baselworld managing director, said that the past year witnessed some fundamental changes that included the unpegging of the Swiss franc to the euro, the crisis in Russia and Ukraine, the decline of growth in China, and Smart watches. Ritter said “Smart watches have been around for years. Lots have already been written about them but it will have no effect on traditional watchmaking.” According to François Thiébaud, president of the Baselworld Swiss Exhibitors Committee the growth in the industry in 2014 was modest, the Swiss watch exports increased 1.9% year-over-year to nearly $22.2 billion. Thiébaud commented on the outburst of Smart watches he said “the watch crises of the 1980s was totally different.”
Another topic at the press conference was the sudden removal in January of the 1.20 Swiss franc currency cap to the Euro. Thiébaud, said the currency change so far hasn’t impacted sales. Since January, Swiss exports have increased by 3.7% to $1.6 billion. The press conference announced the feath of Jacques J. Duchêne, former president of the Baselworld Exhibitors, who died Tuesday. It would have been his 60th appearance at the show, which dates back to 1917.