By George Lampiris
At the moment we are talking about imposing a cap on food due to shortages that could occur in the supply chain due to reduced stocks of raw materials related to the war in Ukraine, such as cereals, a not insignificant portion of our fellow citizens in Greece – but and to the world – set up for several hours outside the stores of the well-known watch company, Swatch, last Saturday and in the middle of three days, in order to acquire a watch with a retail price of 250 euros. What was so special about this particular watch? It was essentially a true copy of the famous Omega watch, Speedmaster, in its financial version and even bore the double signature of the two companies of common interest, Omega and Swatch. All the watches that have been released bear the dual Omega X Swatch logo, as well as the Speedmaster logo and the new MoonSwatch logo, which is the variant of the Moon Watch as the model of this particular watch is known from Omega. For recording purposes, the photo you see in this article comes from a post by various users on Facebook and comes from the Swatch store on Ermou Street in Syntagma. In fact, the stocks of the specific watches that were released on Saturday in 11 different shades, were soon exhausted.
It is characteristic that in the two authorized stores maintained by Swatch on Ermou Street and The Mall Athens, the queues of the prospective buyers of one of the watches that were released in the Greek market were formed quite early on Saturday morning and in the middle of the three days of the 25th. March, where quite a large part of the Greeks camped in holiday homes and nearby or less nearby destinations. Apart from Greece, in Geneva, Switzerland, the country of origin of Swatch and Omega, the queues were formed early in the morning, while due to the chaotic situations that were caused, arrests were made.
Queues around the world – The Apollo 11 astronaut clock
At the same time in Swatch stores around the world the queues that formed were more than unreal and perhaps for some unexpected (but not for the company itself). From Australia and the Swatch store in Melbourne to many similar stores in Europe, the queues were proverbial with potential buyers seeking a copy of the iconic Speedmaster Professional, known as the “Moon Watch” worn by the astronauts. of the US space mission in 1965. In fact, this was the 4th generation of the Speedmaster that provided small – compared to previous models – but significant changes in the design of the chronograph, which was first released in 1957. For the first time in this model was printed and the word “Professional” on the dial. The 105,012 and 145,012 are the same watches worn by Apollo 11 astronauts on their mission to the moon.
The strategy of Swatch Group and the watch of 7,000 euros
This move is part of the Swatch Group’s Omega strategy, in order to rekindle the world’s interest in the watches it produces, thus offering a sense of luxury, a watch that costs in its traditional version with a steel case and bracelet and exclusively with the Omega logo on its dial, around 6,900 euros at the moment, while in the joint version of Omega and Swatch the price is 250 euros. It is noted that the “cheap” Omega X Swatch instead of a steel case and bracelet, is made of ceramic material, while in relation to the original watch that has an automatic mechanism and its operation is powered by the movement of the hand, this watch works with use of a battery.
The company hopes to reverse the market climate and the recent trend that has led Swiss exports of more expensive watches to rally in price, following the initial dip due to a pandemic, while watches with prices below the 500 euros to lose ground. It is noted, however, that the more expensive watches were for many an investment shelter, in which they placed money during the pandemic.
From the shelves of Swatch stores at ten times the price on ebay
It is interesting, however, that many of the cheap Omega X Swatchs of 250 euros, shortly after their purchase from the local Swatch boutiques around the world, were found on the electronic “shelves” of e-bay with prices at least ten times higher than the This fact demonstrates the wider market trend, according to which several companies collaborate either with well-known artists, fashion designers, athletes or even large brands among themselves, with products produced in a limited number of pieces, then creating the collectibles and consequently a multi-billion-euro resale market around the world, such as Nike Jordan’s previous partnership for the production of sneakers in collaboration with Dior. at this time – depending on availability by size – are reaching a selling price on the popular web place for buying and selling sports goods and clothing, StockX, even 35,000 euros, while the initial retail price was at the level of 1,800 euros per pair.
The performance of Swatch Group in Greece
In Greece, the Swatch group – distributes Swatch, Omega, Tissot, Longines, Rado, Hamilton watches in Greece – in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, lost more than 10 million euros in turnover, with a turnover of 10.43 million euros from 21.62 million euros in 2019, marking an increase in its losses to 3.08 million euros from 1 million euros in 2019. The company maintains Omega boutique on Bucharest Street, Tissot boutique at Panepistimiou Street as well as authorized Swatch stores in Ermou, The Athens Mall as well as at Tsimiski Street in Thessaloniki. In fact, recently there was a capital increase in the Greek company, by 3 million euros in order to strengthen the financial liquidity of this company in our country.
Source: Capital
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