Close to 18,000 buyers visit Watch & Clock Fair and Salon de TE
7 September 2019 – The 38th edition of the HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair and the seventh edition of the Salon de TE concluded their five-day run (3-7 September) today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the Hong Kong Watch Manufacturers Association Ltd and The Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades and Industries Ltd, the Fairs welcomed close to 18,000 buyers from 104 countries and regions. Satisfactory growth was recorded in buyer attendance from emerging markets such as Brazil, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam, along with established markets such as Belgium and Switzerland.
Benjamin Chau, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director, said: “Despite the continuation of the Sino-US trade friction, global exhibitors and buyers still view Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair as a premier one-stop trading platform. The fairs attracted various renowned watch and clock brands, retailers and wholesalers such as Shiel’s from Australia, Chilli Beans from Brazil, Wenger’s of Canada, Germany’s Paul Valentine, Titan Group of India, Tous Watch from Spain, Iduna AB of Sweden, Switzerland’s West End Watch and Armitron from the United States.To assist industry players to expand their business networks and explore more business opportunities amid various challenges, we also expanded our business matching services by putting in place extra resources this year.”
Survey sees 2020 sales as steady or growing
The HKTDC commissioned an independent market research agency to conduct an on-site survey during the first three days of the fair (3-5 September), interviewing 839 buyers and exhibitors about their views on market prospects and product trends. Regarding the market outlook in 2020, respondents who expected to see the overall sales steady and growing are 48% and 32% respectively. Most respondents view Japan, Western Europe, Taiwan and Hong Kong as the most promising mature markets in the next two years, while the Middle East, Mainland China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are seen as having the best prospects among emerging markets.
Smart watches remain as the upcoming trend
In terms of product trends, smart watches (31%), automatic watches (22%), digital analogue watches (18%) and quartz analogue watches (14%) are viewed as the most popular categories for 2020. Watches interactable with smart devices (51%) are predicted by respondents to be the most prevalent product development strategy in the coming year, followed by collections that align with current season's fashion trends (40%), mix & match watches (featuring changeable parts to match clothing) (39%), limited edition collections (35%) and celebrity-endorsed watch collections (29%).
Business matching creates opportunities for buyers and exhibitors
A buyer from Iran, Ali Ahmadi, CEO of Dijiran, was making his eighth visit to the fair. This year he placed orders for US$25,000 worth of watches offered by Adriatica, Pierre Lannier and Toms, and plans to buy Jacques Farel watches valued at US$5,000. “Through the HKTDC’s business-matching service I also found six potential suppliers of smart watches and plan to buy 1,000 pieces from one of them,” he said.
Sophie Sun, CEO of the 5Lux Group from Mainland China, came to Hong Kong for sourcing. 5Lux.com is an e-tailing platform that specialises in selling luxury products such as watches, jewellery and fashion items. Ms Sun said, “I have found a potential supplier of smart watches from Shenzhen and plan to buy Rmb200,000 worth of smart watches. I am also interested in three brands − Giorgio Fedon 1919, Tylor and Zorbello − offered by a Hong Kong company and I’ll contact their distributor in the mainland to explore cooperation opportunities. There are many new brands and business opportunities at the fair.”
Ton Cleijne, Marketing Specialist at the Weisz Group in the Netherlands, said his company has exhibited at the Watch & Clock Fair over the past decade and this was the second consecutive year to showcase two of its brands, Danish Design and Jacob Jensen at Salon de TE. “We are happy to have met with more high-quality buyers this year. Around six to seven existing distributors have placed orders for our new models at the show and we have found potential distributors from Malaysia and Singapore. We have also talked to large retailers from Australia and Indonesia. Salon de TE provides a perfect platform for us to promote our brands and to connect with buyers, especially from Southeast Asia.”
For more comments from exhibitors and buyers, please visit: https://bit.ly/2m0rXwh (Watch & Clock Fair) and https://bit.ly/2kj2ZrH (Salon de TE)
Photo download: http://bit.ly/2kx7i2z
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The five-day Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair and the concurrent Salon de TE (3-7 September) attracted close to 18,000 buyers, highlighting Hong Kong’s importance as a key trading platform for the global watch and clock industry |
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Salon de TE featured about 140 acclaimed brands and designer collections, including 13 renowned international brands from World Brand Piazza, along with impeccable craftsmanship from Swiss Independent Watchmaking Pavilion, Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) and Francéclat. |
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Various product zones are set up in Watch & Clock Fair, including Pageant of Eternity zone which gathers quality watches as well as group pavilions representing Mainland China and Taiwan, displaying diversified watch and clock products |
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This edition of the fair featured more than 30 events, including Hong Kong International Watch Forum, Asian Watch Conference and watch parades. The Salon de TE Cocktail Reception and Gala Dinner on the fair’s opening day (3 September) featured Jess Sum and Kaman Kong modelling exquisite timepieces from exhibitors, with Veronica Shiu acting as master of ceremonies |
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Product launch sessions were held during the fair to introduce brand new collections and designs to global buyers. Celebrities including Patrick Kong, Bob Lam, Elanne Kong, Jonathan Wong, Oscar Siu and Wong You-nam were invited by Hong Kong tourbillon watch brand, Memorigin to participate in the product launch sessions. |
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Various activities were organised as part of Public Day at Salon de TE on 7 Sep, including the “Fashion x Watches” parade, watchmaking demo sessions and lucky draws |
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The HKTDC continued to adopt the e-Badge for buyers. This year, e-Badge is also extended to exhibitors along with the new e-Business Card function, to further enhance exhibitors and buyers’ fair experience |
Fair websites
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HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair: hkwatchfair.hktdc.com
3-7 September: Trade visitors aged 18 or above only (free admission)
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Salon de TE: hkwatchfair.hktdc.com/te
7 September: Open to public visitors aged 12 or above (free admission)
Media enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC’s Communication and Public Affairs Department:
Sunny Ng Tel: (852) 2584 4357 Email: sunny.sl.ng@hktdc.org
Media registration
Media representatives wishing to cover the event may register on-site with their business cards and/or media identification.
To view press releases in Chinese, please visit http://mediaroom.hktdc.com/tc
About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via trade publications, research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn