Editor's Picks
Will Baselworld Continue to Exist?
Editor's Picks
Will Baselworld Continue to Exist?
But I’ve got news for you. Like Bob Dylan says, “the times they are a-changing,” and with the flight to Geneva by the Kering Group brands, Hermès and a whole host of independent watchmakers, and with Jean-Claude Biver’s LVMH commando troops moored on Lake Geneva and dug into the Hotel Kempinski, the writing is on the wall. Because in all the time that I’ve faithfully attended your trade show, I’ve watched you let hotels jack their prices up three times and compel guests to pay for the entire duration of the fair even if they only stay a few days, quickly reselling those same rooms as soon as they leave, in a shamelessly nefarious act of double-dipping.
What’s that you say? How could you and your citizens make a living otherwise? Well, I would imagine, just like any other city in the world, by creating a sustainable economy that does not incorporate the blatant unabashed ripping off of every person that visits you during your annual trade fairs.
Number of exhibitors in 2018 are expected to be half that of last year’s at 600-700 (Source: Forbes.com). As a result, the fair’s duration has been reduced by two days.
Already big brands, the likes of Hermès and, Ulysee Nardin and Girard Perregaux earlier, have exited the fair in favor of SIHH. Rumors are swirling that more are likely to follow in 2019. Georges Kern of Breitling, for instance, has publicly expressed his disinterest for the Baselworld fair for the coming year.[/td_block_text_with_title]
What I cannot accept is that you, Baselworld, have not invested in the technical infrastructure to allow us journalists to do our jobs properly in the era of the Internet and social media. And the very least you could do is implement free broadband Wi-Fi for all brands, retailers and journalists, to give them the ability to enable Instagram Live with clear and non-pixelated transmission. The least you could do is keep the haphazardly meandering public out of the way for a minimum of four days, so that we can play our part in the recovery of the once-beleaguered industry that is finally once again finding its footing.
SIHH 2018 saw an extensive overhaul of the fair facilities, with heightened security, larger entrance ways and reception areas.
For members of the press, a great deal has been done to make reporting from on the ground a lot easier with better internet service and even a more decked out press room.
But the best bit may be the well lit booths created all across the fair floors, called “White Box” where you can do quick photography for social media, or use the space to film interviews.
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Let me explain something to you, Baselworld organizing committee. Rolex, Patek Philippe and Chopard are all based in Geneva, while the mighty Swatch Group already exhibits their watches at Geneva’s La Cité du Temps. The day these companies decide to throw their own fair, extending the period of the SIHH by another few days, thus not compelling us to take out a second mortgage so as to pay for plane tickets twice, you will be totally and inexorably screwed. And you know what? From a moral, ethical and every other perspective imaginable, you totally and utterly deserve it. And I for one shall dance on the ashes of your funeral pyre. Peace out.