Watchmaking post
Stop, watch and learn!

Par Joël A. Grandjean /TàG Press +41

Brands and retailers - old rivals?

No industry other than watchmaking could put up with such a love-hate relationship as that which exists between the world of brands and the people who distribute them, i.e. retailers, distributors and store managers… So what if both worlds could envisage a combined future together? Might their shared passion not have a valuable role to play?

Soon, throughout the month of January 2013, for the watchmaking fairs, the retail industry will be required to rub shoulders with the world of brand names. Such encounters are not without their tensions, given that both sides, supposedly partners, are sometimes known to go looking for a fight. Yet one feature they have in common is that they both anticipate an uncertain economic climate. So much so that one wonders whether it is not, in fact, precisely the uncertainty surrounding the continuing good health of the sector that is provoking such anger and irritation. Attacks are launched on all sides, accusations, such as dictators, usurpers, incompetents, ignoramuses and even spoilt brats, start flying!

Act 1 At the watchmaking house
Retailers are frequently referred to as miserly: ‘It’s no good asking them anything, they couldn’t care less! The only thing that gets them going them is money, they’re not interested in anything else. Not the product, its historic significance, or even its unquestionable originality. There’s no point in recommending a new marketing tool to them, you’ll just be thrown out on your heels. They’re the ones who call all the shots...’

Act 2 In the store
‘Each space taken up in our window displays should correspond to a percentage of our sales. Take a new model, or in the worst case scenario, a new brand, why should we agree to play the game and take pointless risks? A model that isn’t selling, in other words that isn’t selling fast enough, is a dead model, which, at the price per square metre we pay for the rental space, means a loss of earnings, if not a dead loss all together. Conversely, why should we deny ourselves a best-seller?’

Act 3 Back at the brand’s premises
No-one talks about watches any more! It’s so humdrum! We prefer to use far more flattering terminology. We refer to them as timepieces, we like to poeticise. How crass to have to explain everything, and humbly go, cap in hand, from store to store, drumming up interest and trying to negotiate a few tiny square centimetres of shelf space for our ‘creations’ in places who haven’t a clue what we’re talking about. The magnificent splendour of the creation, the soul of the object should suffice. We should not have to deal with things like ignorance and financial realities. Admittedly, any brand will do a bit of pruning and ditch an item that doesn’t sell. Well, that’s at least one point in common with the retailer!

Conversely, when it comes to capturing the interest of the most sought-after stores, in order to get a foot in the door and then, if possible, take up permanent residence, the brand will willingly dive into its wallet, offer to step up its communication efforts and roll out the red carpet. But at the same time making sure that the additional efforts are so enticing that even the most sought-after concept store will not try and cause trouble by laying down the law, nor attempt to control its shelf space by giving the impression it has absolute power. After all, the brand does not question whether, with all its approvals and refusals, pleas and wishes, the solicited retailer, being the one in direct contact with the end customer, is not just trying to express his own view of supply and demand…

Act 4 Back at the retailer’s premises
The goal is to sell everything, after all, and that is what the brand is also aiming to do. So what is needed is some practical support, additional communication efforts. And everyone rants at those arrogant groups who force orders to be placed, astonished to see the shop doors closed when goods are overflowing on the shelves. Are they really so insensitive as to seek refuge behind their administrative walls and general terms and conditions?

A happy ending?
But enough of this futile squabbling, it’s time to meet and dialogue! Fear of others, albeit part of the process of counteracting any economic damage that might occur, is a bad counsellor. While the retailer is afraid that the brand will open its own stores and approach the customer directly through an e-store on the web, brands, with their far-reaching initiatives, find many reasons not to upset their distribution network. They cannot praise highly enough the strong bonds that unite them to their historic partners.

In the meantime, nature, which, as the saying goes, abhors a vacuum, encourages other companies to form and sell online. Never take anything for granted. The weather can turn at any time. The know-it-alls, whatever side they’re on, take the risk of a crash. Only a construct that is the result of several minds, retailers and brands seated around the same table, can give rise to new, efficient, solid structures. Hope springs eternal! Trying to understand the difficulties of each side would help to revive the emotion that speaks to the consumer’s heart. And rekindle the flame of the ultimate seduction, that of the buyer. Make no mistake about passion. The passion for money has nothing on the passion that gives rise to an exceptional, and extremely unifying, product …

Watchmaking post Stop, watch and learn!

Brands and retailers - old rivals?

Watchmaking post
Stop, watch and learn!