With exactly one month until it opens its doors, over 1500 watch industry professionals have now registered to attend the 2014 London Watch Show, an increase of 67% compared the same time last year.
Almost 43% of visitors will be retailers, wholesalers, distributors or agents, according to analysis of the pre-registration data. Among the retailers, 86% say they make purchasing decisions for watches for their stores. 10% say they influence purchasing decisions. Only 4% have no influence over buying.
“The London Watch Show is a gateway to the billion pound British watch market,” says Daniel Malins, event director for the trade-only exhibition.
“We hear from hundreds of retailers all year round that evaluating and selecting new collections and new watch brands for their stores is critical to their success, and that events like the London Watch Show are a hugely welcome opportunity to speak directly to watch brands and distributors,” Malins adds.
The London Watch Show from Jul7 6-7 has moved to an opening day of Sunday this year, a decision that was driven by the demands of retailers that open at least six days per week.
The exhibition has also this year added a Very Important Buyers programme that will see the country’s most powerful retailers encouraged to come to the show with a London Watch Show concierge arranging free travel or accommodation in London. “We know how precious time is for these busy executives and we want to make it as simple as possible for them to come to the exhibition, and demonstrate how much we appreciate them attending,” Malins explains.
Today’s breakdown of 1509 pre-registered attendees is:
Watch journalists: 5.6%
Potential exhibitors at future exhibitions: 15%
Retailers/wholesalers/agents : 42.8%
Watch enthusiasts: 34.4%
Exhibitors: 2.2%
