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Are slowing Watch Sales for Hugo Boss and Others due to the beginning of the Apple Watch Era?

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As Apple was preparing to introduce Apple Watch, the entertaining Jean-Claude Biver president of LVMH's watch division had predicted that they would enter the market with a smartwatch in 2015 and in March they made it official. In April Biver said the watch would be ready for the holiday season. Biver is famous for his digs at Apple. In March he stated that "Apple will get young people used to wearing a watch and later maybe they will want to buy themselves a real watch." Last week we reported that the famed Montblanc watch maker poked fun at Apple saying that their watch would be a joke by the end of the decade. Yet the co-inventor of Swatch was more cautious and by voicing his opinion that Apple's entry into the watch market would bring an ice age of slow growth in Switzerland. Even LVMH's general manager Guy Semon said that the Apple Watch is a tsunami they can't ignore. Today, there's news that may support Swatch's ice age theory.

 

According to a new report by the Wall Street Journal, Movado Group's profits fell sharply in Q1 2015. In fact, profits fell 50%. While the report notes that the drop in profits was likely due to a stronger dollar and slowing economy, the report added that Movado was experiencing increased competition from Apple Watch.

 

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The Movado group has many popular watch brands under its umbrella including Hugo Boss and Tommy Hilfiger. Were Movado customers simply waiting to see what the Apple Watch would deliver before making their next watch purchase decision? It's hard to say at this point in time.

 

According to a new report published last week, Apple Watch sales have begun to slow too after its introduction – but that's more than likely a supply-demand problem that's lingering since its launch. Apple's CEO Tim Cook recently hinted that the Apple Watch could finally be on its way to Apple Stores sometime in late June. Having the watches available for sale in Apple Stores is likely to reinvigorate sales – especially if Apple makes the introduction of the watch like a second wave launch.

 

In the end, is Movado's falling profits a simple economic reality or is it the beginning of that ice age that Swatch's co-inventor predicted that the Apple Watch would bring to Switzerland back in March? Only time will tell.

 

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