We Sail Tonight for Singapore - The Voyage Continues

Numbers, they say, don't lie.  But sometimes they fib.

Courtesy of FH

Yes, numbers are up.  EXPORT numbers.  And interesting to relate, the US is again up.  Which makes sense because the big three as well as Rolex and Patek have subsidiaries here and they can "park" a lot of watches here.  In speaking with my friends in the retail sector, they are not exactly going out and buying a new sports car.  And some once very influential and successful retailers are seriously contemplating whether or not they will make it through this year.  Because what we often fail to understand when we read the (insert the metaphor of your choice) love-story-comeback-feel good-triumph story put forth by some of my colleagues in the 4th and 5th Estates is the reality that exports are not the same as sales, and more importantly, the increase in exports is very likely to level off fairly dramatically once the new SWISSNESS standards are fully in force.  December 31st the clock will strike midnight, and many of the small and the mighty in the industry will watch the  stock that does not meet the standard still remaining within the Swiss borders turn into pumpkins. 

And apart from that, there is one very curious statistic that I will share, the phenomenal improvement shown by that titan of watch sales... Singapore! 
Mighty Singapore showed an uptick of, wait for it, +25%!  Point of full-disclosure, I have never been to Singapore, but I suffer from a distinct sense of incredulity in believing that the demand in Singapore is that great right now.  Is the Grey and Soft Grey market demand great?  Sorry, silly question ; )

And now a little inside baseball for all of you who think I might be full of it, ever wonder how the grey-market and soft-grey market always seem to have so much product?  And have you ever heard the near comedic response of brand managers and their Swiss and German ownership claiming to be just as shocked and concerned as their frustrated and pissed-off retail partners?  Well, to quote that other great commentator on the watch industry - Gabriel Byrne as Tom Reagan (Millers Crossing) -

“I’d worry a lot less if I thought you were worrying enough.”

Here's hoping that I'm wrong.

Ethics

This is one from awhile ago, but the topic has been coming up a lot lately, particularly in light of the post on click farms.  So I thought it might be time to re-heat it, here you go -



I guess this is a bit of an open appeal to the watch brands out there to NOT continue to do business with the online magazines, blogs, and "influencers" that require financial reimbursement for coverage. One of these outlets has at least indicated that a certain news piece or review was "sponsored" but think about that for a minute - a brand is PAYING money to have their watch reviewed by someone who refuses to do the review UNLESS THEY KNOW THEY WILL GET PAID BEFORE THEY EVEN WRITE IT?!?  How in God's name is that even remotely going to be an honest review?  And does this mean that although a brand might have news, if the services weren't paid for, it won't be covered?  It's an interesting question -

"If a brand has a new release but they didn't pay blogger/instagrammer/influencer X, did it really happen?"

Little inside tip for you folks running the brands and making PR/Marketing decisions, most of us who cover you know which blogs, "instagrammers", online magazines, "influencers", etc. CHARGE fees to cover you.  In fact, we even know the amounts because they have been so "professional" as to create pricing sheets.  And most of us find it funny that you continue to not only fund these knuckle-heads, but to listen to you crow about this purchased coverage as if you'd just won some sort of award of excellence.  

In fairness, for better or worse, the watch business is a business.  I got involved out of irrational, uncontrollable, often unrequited love.  And to this day that is what keeps my going.  NOT the all-expense-paid trip to the Hamptons, NOT to learn to surf in Hawaii, NOT to stick it to some young entrepreneur trying to launch his/her watch by charging him/her thousands of dollars that he/she can't easily part with in exchange for just a mention on my blog. 

It is NOT supposed to be this way.  It is deceptive, and it is dishonest.  And you have the power to stop it.

So watch brands both big and small, I've been told that perhaps I have an irrational desire to see things a certain way.  To want people to at least attempt to operate in an honest, and straightforward manner.  And in complete truth - had I been the first puppy at the feeding dish getting fat while the runts died from malnutrition, I might live in that same ethical place that the people you bankroll do, swanning about to your events, demanding payment for "service", playing the game.  But if I'm honest, I think that deep down you are all better than this.  And your brands are better than this.  So may I suggest that just as we say when you visit a national park in the US that you "Please don't feed the bears".  And we change it to:

"Please don't feed the Hipsters"

As I said in a previous post - paying for advertising, the occasional press junket, and goodwill swag? Fair enough.  Brokering coverage in an online magazine, blog, etc.?  That is not real coverage. And like any abusive relationship, the longer you keep giving in to the bully, the longer they will be able to manipulate and bully you.

I would like to leave you with a quote from one of my favorite all-time movies - Millers Crossing.  In this scene, Johnny Casper is complaining about paying to "fix" a boxing match, and having his fixed fight become a losing proposition because another person will "sell" the information to another group regarding the fixed outcome of the fight.  I use this example because I personally feel that it is endemic to the watch business.  And frankly, it shouldn't be.

"It's gettin' so a businessman can't expect no return from a fixed fight. Now if you can't trust a fix, what can you trust? For a good return you gotta go bettin' on chance, and then you're back with anarchy. Right back inna jungle. On account of the breakdown of ethics. That's why ethics is important. It's the grease makes us get along, what separates us from the animals, beasts a burden, beasts a prey. Ethics. Whereas (insert person you paid for coverage) is a horse of a different color ethics- wise. As in, he ain't got any."