Watch Out Apple… Millennials Turn Back Time With Swatch

High-tech on your wrist is one thing, an ice-cream in your hand and a sunny breeze on your face is another…

The world’s biggest watchmaker, Swatch, enjoyed a net profit of nearly 70% in the first half of 2018, which it attributes to increased interest from millennials.

Although Apple still sells more watches than anyone else (last count, 15 million in a year), it seems the pendulum might be swinging back towards the kind of fun and simplicity expressed in this ad, where time is to be enjoyed – even frittered.

We know Swatch as a creator of bright designs, unbreakable plastic-cased watches and really good value for money, but the Swiss company has kept pace with the tech times (Pay and Bellamy payment models) as well as sticking to its origins and branching into luxury (Omega, Breguet).

The brand is used to getting our attention: It launched in Germany in 1984 by putting a 13-tonne, fully functioning wristwatch down the side of Commerzbank Frankfurt.

More recently, it’s opened up the option to design your own watch online.

Founded in 1983 to counter the growing popularity of digital watches, Swatch now appears to be standing up well against high wrist-tech competition. A company statement said that “Consumer demand, particularly from millennials, for authentic brand products is greatly increasing on a worldwide scale.”

Founded in 1983 to counter the growing popularity of digital watches, #Swatch now appears to be standing up well against high wrist-tech competition such as #AppleWatch

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We’re living in young times, with 50 percent of the world’s population under the age of 30. Millennials want purpose and positive action; they see climate change and conflict as major issues to be resolved and are generally upbeat about technology’s ability to do this.

Which means they’ll probably want to find a way to recycle those plastic watches – unless the Swatch watches originally conceived as ‘disposable’ become collector’s items.

Meantime, bring on the fun. As they say, a moment enjoyed is never a moment wasted.

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Tree Elven is a creative who thinks big, values simplicity, and loves life. She’s the Founder of ADDS, an independent voting platform – it’s like TripAdvisor for advertising.

#ADDS #apple watch #swatch