TAG Heuer Overcomes the Swiss Watch Industry Crisis

Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of TAG Heuer, the Swiss luxury watch maker, has stated in a series of interviews with several media that the company’s sales grew 14% in 2016, a year that has been marked by the crisis of exports of Swiss watch manufacturers, which has already accumulated 15 consecutive months of setbacks.

Biver has also confirmed that the company’s top priority remains America, even though its main area of expansion is China. As for the Swiss industry, he has also been optimistic, saying that exports will grow again in 2017, which will allow a general recovery of the sector in Switzerland. As a result, Biver expects 2017 to be a record year for both TAG Heuer and Hublot, another of LVMH’s most exclusive companies

One of the major trends in the industry this year may be the explosion of smartwatchs. The goal of TAG Heuer and other Swiss rivals is to gain market share from Apple, which has 50% of the smartwatch market after having sold 20 million Apple Watchs worldwide. In fact, TAG Heuer already made a first foray into this segment of the business, launching the TAG Heuer Connected model with Google and Intel. The Swiss firm sold all the units it put up for sale even though they cost about $ 1,400 per unit.

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