Baselworld 2018 general

TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith commit to Baselworld 2020 after stablemate Bulgari withdraws

Management says Baselworld is recording growth in all sectors and expecting 80,000 visitors.

Of the brands that exhibited at Baselworld last year, and have shared their plans with WatchPro for this year’s show, there have been more joining or reconfirming than leaving.

Dolce&Gabbana is making its debut and Maurice Lacroix is back. Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Citizen Group and Oris are keeping their spaces.

TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith today reconfirmed they will participate, despite LVMH’s wealthiest brand, Bulgari, withdrawing.

Gucci, Casio, Seiko, Grand Seiko, Breitling and Victorinox have withdrawn.

The show’s managing director, Michel Loris-Melikoff, remains bullish, despite the defections and the ongoing coronavirus health scare.

“We are currently recording growth in all sectors, including watchmaking, with many establishments joining or returning  — several dozen — to the show thanks to the different formats that we have put in place this year. Listening, dialogue, creativity: the positive dynamic is once again in motion,” he says.

He must have the hide of an bison, because a lesser man would have been felled by the challenges facing this year’s show. First, it made the self-inflicted error of moving the event too late in the year with an end of April slot.

That caused a slew of cancellations even before coronavirus struck.

“With regard to the Coronavirus, we are monitoring the evolution of the situation very closely with the authorities. To date, in Europe, all conferences and shows scheduled to be held around the same time frame as Baselworld 2020, are going ahead as planned, with no cancellations currently on record,” Mr Loris-Melikoff asserts.

Following today’s news that Bulgari is withdrawing, Mr Loris-Melikoff sighed: “We deeply regret Bulgari’s decision to withdraw from the next edition of Baselworld. We continue to work closely with the Watch Division of the LVMH Group and each of its three brands TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith. We work closely with Stéphane Bianchi and his team to offer the best business platform to the Group’s brands with pragmatic cost control.”

Stéphane Bianchi, president of the Watch Division of the LVMH Group, confirmed today that TAG Heuer, Hublot, and Zenith remain committed to Baselworld in 2020. “We believe in the importance of a major event for the Swiss watch industry and look forward to a successful fair, both in terms of image and sales, for our three Maisons,” he added.

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