New heritage director at TAG Heuer

bpsmith
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It’s a weird old world presently. People struggling to pay their mortgage when their fixed rates have come to an end and/or struggling with food and transport costs, yet luxury watch prices shoot up and people continue to buy like there’s some sort of shortage.

One assumption is that the type of people buying said watches are wealthy enough, or were savvy enough with their finances, to not be affected in the same way.

Another assumption is that the age demographic of such buyers is such than most will have repaid their mortgages and so are sheltered from the first element regarding mortgages.

Good luck to anyone who works hard and has the cash free to spend. The spoils of such hard work has to be enjoyed. Absolutely.

My point is whether there are enough demand to meet supply in the mid to longer term should cost of living increases continue to be a factor for others.
 
Nalin
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I find it strange that everyone on this forum believes the old business model was working. With the rise of smart watches and microbrands, Entry Level Swiss is a market quickly disappearing.
While we might not agree with the direction they're taking, gambling on moving upmarket is better than doing fighting over a shrinking market.
 
Jim Dollares
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Nalin Nalin
I find it strange that everyone on this forum believes the old business model was working. With the rise of smart watches and microbrands, Entry Level Swiss is a market quickly disappearing.
While we might not agree with the direction they're taking, gambling on moving upmarket is better than doing fighting over a shrinking market.
I find it strange that you think everyone here thinks the old business strategy was working. As many on this forum have pointed out, TAG's market share has been going down and I would say that the majority here feel that something needs to change. The arguments differ on what and how that change should happen. Some believe TAG should become a Tudor, some think everything should be Heuer branded with designs from 60 years ago, some think we should go back to a bold Biver type of TAG and so on.

So no, everyone on this forum does not think the old way of TAG was working 😉
 
Aquagraph
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I think TAG must be feeling the effects of the Tudornado. You only have to look at this forum (a flipping TAG Heuer forum) to see the effect Tudor has had in the last few years. it's a seismic event in the watch world and Tudor are very effectively leveraging their 'ROLEX you can actually afford/get' credentials while making suitably 'middle of the road/everyman/innofensive' watches. Theo & Harris made a video the other day where they said Tudor will probably end up the second biggest watch brand after Rolex in 5-10 years. I think they are right.

Doesn't it seem odd though that luxury goods sales are so buoyant when generally speaking people dress more and more casually every year?
 
Gene242
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Aquagraph Aquagraph
I think TAG must be feeling the effects of the Tudornado. You only have to look at this forum (a flipping TAG Heuer forum) to see the effect Tudor has had in the last few years. it's a seismic event in the watch world and Tudor are very effectively leveraging their 'ROLEX you can actually afford/get' credentials while making suitably 'middle of the road/everyman/innofensive' watches. Theo & Harris made a video the other day where they said Tudor will probably end up the second biggest watch brand after Rolex in 5-10 years. I think they are right.

Doesn't it seem odd though that luxury goods sales are so buoyant when generally speaking people dress more and more casually every year?

I think Tag rested on their laurels for to long and others not only step up but got ahead of them

Longines, outsell them in volume and overall gross but doesn't appear as popular but movement wise, VHP quartz, swatch exclusive movement and history for less, even tissot with the power matic 80, Tudor pelagos 70 hour, cosc, titanium, additional strap only a few hundred more than aquaracer titanium with calibre 5

At times it feels like a disadvantage quoting specs because people are more inform and Tag is lagging despite the increasing prices (the heur 02 great value but face more competition with omega breitling )

And I think alot of people are looking at watches as commodities and investment they can flip later or maintain its value...watched are being bought but not worn or worn very little nowadays
 
Aquagraph
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Gene242 Gene242
And I think alot of people are looking at watches as commodities and investment they can flip later or maintain its value...watched are being bought but not worn or worn very little nowadays

Not just watches, it's everything, trainers, lego... does anybody actually buy anything to 'use' these days? And of course, this 'buying as investements' means that people who actually want to use these things can't get them.
 
bpsmith
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Aquagraph Aquagraph
Not just watches, it's everything, trainers, lego... does anybody actually buy anything to 'use' these days? And of course, this 'buying as investements' means that people who actually want to use these things can't get them.

It’s by design. Making items desirable by tagging them as Limited/Special/Ultra Edition’s, thus creating the secondary market which keeps the primary market going.

Rolex get a bad name, rightfully so, but it’s fair to say a huge amount of big brands are doing the same but just with a different, arguably more subtle, approach.
Edited:
 
Pitfitter446
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Chatting to my AD recently, his main two marques are TH and Omega, he says that as TH increase increase more people then when looking at the expensive TH will ask ‘what can I get for the same/similar money from Omega?’, a lot will stretch to an Omega as they perceived as more exclusive, higher ranking manufacturer.
Personally, being fortunate to have no debt, reasonable income, and sufficient funds that my finance guy to tells me ‘spend’ doesn’t mean that I’ll part with cash for a new watch at a higher rate because the company want to appear upmarket, people don’t get money by lashing it out Willy nilly, if I were spending £Xk I will be looking at all options available at the price sector, I won’t buy on name, sorry Frederic, not brand loyal at any cost, my loyalty lies with my wallet.
 
bpsmith
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Owning both, I would go for Omega over TAG Heuer, when there’s barely much in it.

Not so much the brand name, but the quality and movements don’t compare.

(EDIT: plus it’s got nothing to do Steve McAldrin wearing one to race to Le Moons.)

TH can change that, but they just choose not to.
Edited:
 
Mspeedster
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Jim Dollares Jim Dollares
I find it strange that you think everyone here thinks the old business strategy was working. As many on this forum have pointed out, TAG's market share has been going down and I would say that the majority here feel that something needs to change. The arguments differ on what and how that change should happen. Some believe TAG should become a Tudor, some think everything should be Heuer branded with designs from 60 years ago, some think we should go back to a bold Biver type of TAG and so on.

So no, everyone on this forum does not think the old way of TAG was working 😉
I could see why @Nalin might get that impression from some of the responses about the F1. It also felt to me that some were trying to defend the F1's "perceived" popularity and sales volume. This equates to TAG's old way of volume entry level luxury sales.

For me the direction TAG needs to take is simple, but perhaps easier said than done. Better designs, better finishing & quality, and better movements. The lack of COSC (or better), not to mention misaligned date wheels, are unacceptable.
 
Gene242
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Mspeedster Mspeedster
I could see why @Nalin might get that impression from some of the responses about the F1. It also felt to me that some were trying to defend the F1's "perceived" popularity and sales volume. This equates to TAG's old way of volume entry level luxury sales.

For me the direction TAG needs to take is simple, but perhaps easier said than done. Better designs, better finishing & quality, and better movements. The lack of COSC (or better), not to mention misaligned date wheels, are unacceptable.
What makes it frustrating is they have everything in their resources to make it happen...I would have been tempted to pull the trigger on the two tone Aquaracer 200, if it came with the th31 movement, and on the fly adjustment ,even if it was price nearer to $6000 but as is, $5050 for the same cal 5 is a non starter for me when so much more value can be had at or near that price point

Applying the bare minimum and brand reliance with a higher price tag is a disaster waiting to happen, they will lose their current market and would make no inroads up market

My guess , probably contract obligations or overstock and want to squeeze some more profits from current supply but a seismic shift in their product offering is in the works
 
Aquagraph
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I do wonder what TAG would have to do to be seen as serious players in the luxury market. I don't think killing the quartz watches is going to somehow miraculously change decades of opinion.
 
matthew_VA
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I share your frustration. There is more of a desire for possession than utility.


Aquagraph Aquagraph
Not just watches, it's everything, trainers, lego... does anybody actually buy anything to 'use' these days? And of course, this 'buying as investements' means that people who actually want to use these things can't get them.
 
abrod520
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Aquagraph Aquagraph
I do wonder what TAG would have to do to be seen as serious players in the luxury market. I don't think killing the quartz watches is going to somehow miraculously change decades of opinion.

More effort into finishing / the detail work, and far less celebrity advertising, for a start
 
Mspeedster
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Aquagraph Aquagraph
I do wonder what TAG would have to do to be seen as serious players in the luxury market. I don't think killing the quartz watches is going to somehow miraculously change decades of opinion.
Just killing quartz won't do it. But keeping low end models will lead many to feel it's the same old TAG. Look back 10 to 15 years to their Haute Horlogerie days, with pieces priced over $100K like the MikrotourbillonS and Monaco V4. Those super expensive watches didn't really move the needle that much for their image, because they still had all the affordable stuff as well.

Some people buy certain brands (of any luxury goods) because they know there's a high price point to gain entry into being a part of that "club". But even if TAG were to suddenly create watches truly worthy of $10k+ asking prices and axed everything below $5k, it wouldn't be enough to shift perception overnight. Such an image change will take years if not a decade at least. That's why Toyota created Lexus and Seiko created Grand Seiko etc.
 
Mspeedster
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I vividly remember being in a Rolex Boutique about 10 years ago wearing a Monaco. The snobby sales guy took one look and said you need a Rolex, not a quartz watch like your TAG. I just shrugged off his ignorance, but it shows the effect that Quartz has had on TAG's entire image.
 
Aquagraph
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Must be a nightmare running TAG. I wouldn't want to be the one to decide to pull the plug on the mass market watches in the hope that it translates into higher end sales. But like we've said, they aren't in a position to do it yet anyway - they need their new models sorted out first, with better movements.
 
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