This week on The Business of Watches, we’re getting a preview and history lesson of Geneva Watch Days. Born in the dark days of the pandemic in 2020, it was a new kind of watch industry gathering that prioritized access and community over exclusivity. Jean-Christophe Babin, the former Chief Executive Officer of Bulgari, has been there from the beginning. He tells us why Geneva Watch Days started and why it’s still needed. We discuss what to expect at this year’s event and what the future of watch industry events might bring.
Jean-Christophe Babin.
Photo courtesy LVMH
With some 71 brands exhibiting, GWD has more marques than that other big watch show in Geneva that happens each spring, but it’s very different in tone and feel. Using a ‘decentralized’ concept, brands pay fees based on their size and revenue and the show allows for plenty of smaller, boutique brands to show off their wares. Open to the general public, it certainly isn’t as glitzy nor as pricey an event as some others. Babin says the entire budget of GWD is likely less than the cost of staging and running a major booth at Watches and Wonders.
A veteran who has served as the head of LVMH’s watch unit as well as the CEO of TAG Heuer, Babin has seen the industry through a myriad of cycles, giving him a unique perspective on where the watch sector has been and where it’s going.
There’s plenty of watch business and strategy to discuss, and we hope you enjoy the conversation. Be sure to leave any thoughts or questions in the comments section, and we’ll do our best to respond. Want to subscribe so you never miss an episode? This show is being published to the original Hodinkee Podcasts feed, so you can subscribe wherever you find your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or TuneIn.
Show Notes
0:59 Geneva Watch Days website
2:00 Geneva Watch Days 2020 / 2021 (FHS)
5:06 Geneva Tourism – Geneva Watch Days
9:12 Breitling was a founding member of GWD
10:31 Watches and Wonders
12:45 How Watches and Wonders Remains Worthwhile For Brands Big And Small (Hodinkee)
17:16 Geneva Watch Days Agenda / Panels / Symposiums
19:10 Phillips Geneva Watch Days Auction For Geneva Watchmaking School
22:15 Geneva.com
24:03 Fondation du Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève
31:18 Ferdinand Berthoud
32:00 FHS Statistics
33:40 The criteria for strengthening Swiss made (FHS)
35:20 Swatch
37:50 Casio mechanical watches
40:30 Swatch X Audemars Piguet ‘Royal Pop’ (Hodinkee)
