Editor’s Note
The exodus of major watch brands from Baselworld continues, with LVMH’s key houses now joining other giants in withdrawing from the 2021 fair. This story examines the mounting challenges facing one of the industry’s most historic trade shows.
Paris—TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith, the three brands that comprise LVMH’s watchmaking division, said Friday they won’t be exhibiting at Baselworld in 2021.
This announcement is another blow to the trade show, which lost Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chopard and Chanel last week.
The exit of the three brands spells the end of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s participation in the trade show, as Bulgari announced in February it would not be doing Baselworld this year.
This follows last week’s news that four of the floundering trade show’s keystone brands—Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chopard and Chanel—were pulling out of Baselworld and starting a new watch trade show that will take place in Geneva in April 2021, in conjunction with Watches & Wonders Geneva.
In a statement, LVMH said TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith had “taken note” of the four brands’ decision and came to the conclusion that they, along with Bulgari, needed to withdraw too, to “preserve their image and their relations with their clients as well with the media.”
They said they would join the other Swiss watch brands in Geneva in April 2021, noting in the statement that having the entire industry organize around the same dates and place is “a major opportunity to at last revive a sector that all too many divisions and divergent interests have weakened compared to the rest of the luxury sector.”
But LVMH, which held its own watch event in January at the Bulgari hotel in Dubai, did not expressly commit to the new Geneva show.
It said its four brands are “examining various potential event formats” and that LVMH’s watchmaking division—TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith—and Bulgari will each make their own decisions about how they will exhibit in Geneva in the coming weeks.
A name and dates for the new trade show, which will take place at the Palexpo in Geneva, have yet to be announced.
Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard said when they announced the creation of the new show that other brands could join their show, but have yet to publicly reveal any names.
They declined to comment on LVMH’s announcement.