Baselworld

Baselworld celebrates return of its first defector

Maurice Lacroix will be back in 2020 saying that the exhibition organiser listed to its needs and acted.

A new ‘community district’ at the heart of Hall 1.0 has been designed to make Baselworld’s most desirable space more affordable for brands that do not want to invest in tower block mega stands.

The community district will be a set of several large buildings, each housing two to three brands. It will have harmonised layout between the different spaces with two-level interiors that can be customised by the brands. It will also have private business zones designed to accommodate large numbers of people for presentations and networking.

It is expected to be located in the space vacated by Swatch Group this year and could stretch back towards where Breitling, which will not exhibit in 2020, would have been. The press area, which occupied that space in 2019 is likely to move up to the second floor.

The first booths visitors will see in Hall 1.0 will remain the same in 2020, with TAG Heuer, Bulgari, Hublot, Zenith, Rolex and Patek Philippe retaining their spaces and expected to use the same stands again.

Maurice Lacroix is the first significant watch brand to be lured back by the new concept, having left the show in 2019.

Stéphane Waser, managing director of Maurice Lacroix, says the fresh approach from a responsive management team was key. “The new Baselworld team was able to listen to our needs by proposing a concept that respects our marketing and distribution strategy. This international event will be a key milestone in our global roadshow. We were also seduced by the community District. This pavilion, designed by the organisation, is modern and contemporary, in line with our vision of presenting the Maurice Lacroix brand at international watchmaking exhibitions,” he explains.

Michel Loris-Melikoff, managing director of Baselworld, is working through a multi-tiered transformation that aims to bring down the cost of exhibiting at and visiting the exhibition. He wants to make it a more attractive event for the jewellery and gems industry, and he wants end consumers such as watch collectors to come and have a rewarding time.

“The transformation of Baselworld will not be undertaken solely by us. Together with all our exhibitors, whether they’re from the world of watchmaking, jewellery, stones and pearls, regardless of their size, we will conceive adapted solutions and initiate change,” he promises.

“We are very pleased to see a traditional exhibitor like Maurice Lacroix return to the heart of Hall 1.0, a company that is integrating Baselworld as a central part of its calendar of various new product launch events around the world and throughout the year. I am delighted with the magnificent work we have done with their particularly dynamic teams to create an innovative, elegant and efficient space in many respects, a result that validates the relevance of the new competitive offers we have put in place, particularly here, to bring back the established reputation of the watchmaking world,” he adds.

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