Suunto

LWS: Exhibitors report positive first day

By Jessica Knowles

Exhibitors on day one of the inaugural London Watch Show were upbeat.

Founder of Axion, Glynn Barker said of the show: "It’s fantastic. Really well organised and I’m really pleased that everything is uniform so, as a little brand, we can look bigger than we actually are and big brands can’t outmuscle us."

Marketing director of OWL watches, Annette Allen also highlighted the importance of being able to gain exposure at the show today: "As a new brand it’s difficult to know where to target and we thought even though LWS is a new show and has no track record there’s a definite target market here. Having WatchPro as an associate also means there’s access to a database of people who are established in the industry and as show that is specifically for this industry it really made sense for us to be here; to be able to sit alongside bigger brands is also really exciting."

When asked about the importance of now having a London based trade platform, the Suunto team said: "It’s absolutely crucial as we can see the competition, retailers and the press and this is the easiest way to physically see the market. BaselWorld is too massive and there are too many Swiss brands where as this is the area we’d like to be in, located next to our competitors. The London Watch Show gives us the opportunity to see the market and to get feedback. From this we hope to gain more retailers and to understand the media, especially watch specific publications."

As a London based brand, David Mason Watches were almost destined to be present for the first London Watch Show. Speaking for the brand, Cos Costas said: "Our eventual goal is to make a purely British watch so a watch show based in London is great. The key for this event is for us to approach retailers and get into a retail market and a show like this is important to get that exposure."

Feeding back after the first of the two-day event, LWS organiser Daniel Malins said: “It’s fantastic to see such overwhelmingly positive feedback from exhibitors. We’re only  halfway through the two day show and to see that our exhibitors have already have so many positive conversations with press and retailers is incredibly rewarding”

Day two of the London Watch Show begins with a VIP breakfast tomorrow at 10am.

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