A Business History of the Swatch Group The Rebirth of Swiss Watchmaking and the Globalization of the Luxury Industry

by Donzé, Pierre-Yves

• ISBN13: 9781137389060
• ISBN10: 1137389060
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-04-08
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

While it was declining at the beginnings of the 1980s, the Swiss watch industry effortlessly dominates the global market today. This remarkable comeback is the topic of this book, which focuses on the development of the Swatch Group, the world's largest watch company, since its founding in 1983.

A Business History of the Swatch Group offers a detailed and full analysis of the strategy which enabled the Swatch Group to establish itself on the world market. In particular, it tackles the issues of production restructuring, with the opening of subsidiaries in Asia, and the implementation of a new marketing strategy, characterized by the move towards luxury. Special attention is paid to the brand management of Omega, the Chinese market, and the Swatch Group's competitors, such as Richemont, LVMH, and Fossil.

Author Biography

Pierre-Yves Donzé is Associate Professor and Hakubi scholar at Kyoto University, Japan. He earned his PhD from University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, before embarking upon research projects in Japan and the United States. His research interests include the global luxury goods business and the history of technology transfer.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction
2 The Watchmaking Crisis of 1975-1985
3 The Creation of Swatch Group and the 'Swatch Legend'
4 Rationalization and Globalization of the Production System (1985-1998)
5 A New Marketing Strategy (1985-1998)
6 The Major Move into Luxury (since 1995)
7 Omega's Choice
8 China: a New El Dorado
9 Swatch Group's Competitors
10 Conclusion