The Swiss watch manufacturers of the LVMH Group, comprising the LVMH Watch Division (TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith) and the Bulgari Maison, have taken note of the abandonment of Baselworld - scheduled for January 2021 - by Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard. And they in turn have decided to cancel their participation in the Fair in order to preserve their image and relations with clients and media. They will therefore not take part in the 2021 edition of Baselworld. The four Maisons are considering different event formats to present their strategies and product novelties to both their business partners and the international press in 2021. The LVMH Watch Division on the one hand and Bulgari on the other will comment on their future plans in the coming weeks, according to their respective objectives. "We are very sorry to have to abandon this more than centenary appointment, to which our Maisons were loyal. However, it is clear that, under these conditions, we have to react quickly and develop other strategies. We have the opportunity to reinvent the format and content of one of the key moments of our watchmaking year, which represented a major commercial challenge and a strategic lever for the influence of our brands. With this in mind, we will make every effort to be present with the other prestigious Maisons that will be meeting in Geneva in April 2021, thus meeting the needs of our partners and customers and offering them a unique experience," said Stéphane Bianchi, Ceo LVMH Watch Division. "Bringing together the entire Swiss watchmaking industry in one place, Geneva, the historical capital of watchmaking, and on one single date, is a great opportunity to finally revive an industry weakened by too many divisions and divergent interests compared to the rest of the luxury sector in which Bulgari is a key player and which is progressing much faster. We are looking forward to Geneva in April 2021, although we still have to define the modalities of our participation, which we will specify in the coming weeks. We are also delighted not to have to compensate, as we did in 2020, for the absence of institutional watch fairs, which this year forced us to take initiatives that were useful in the short term but not strategic in the medium term," was the comment made by Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of the Bulgari Group.
