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Swiss watchmakers are exploring urgent solutions to remain relevant in a period of rapid technological and social change. That exploration has included a focus on female consumers — who are buying more watches for themselves — as well as a move towards gender-neutral design. Reflecting this shift, women are rising the ranks of some of the biggest watch brands.
Most recently, it was announced that François-Henry Bennahmias, who is stepping down as longtime CEO at Audemars Piguet at the end of the year, will be replaced by Ilaria Resta, a Swiss-Italian with an impressive CV after spells at Firmenich and Procter Gamble, but no experience in the world of watches. She will join the company in August and formally take on the role of CEO next January.
During Bennahmias’s 11 years in charge, Audemars Piguet has been a consistently innovative force in the watch industry and has risen into the top five brands — alongside Rolex, Cartier, Omega and Patek Philippe — that together command a 54 per cent share of the market.
But change has been forced on the Swiss industry by the emergence of the smartwatch. Export sales of Swiss-made watches increased by 23 per cent — from 18.3 billion Swiss francs (£16 billion) in 2016 to 23.7 billion Swiss francs (£20.7 billion) in 2022 — but the volume of units sold has fallen by a swingeing 40 per cent (from 25.4 million in 2016 to 15.7 million in 2022). By contrast, the number of smartwatches sold globally surged by 14 per cent year-on-year to 33 million in 2022.
Swiss watch brands are fighting back with a rethink about how they market and sell to women — and men — including creating more gender-neutral ranges and campaigns. “The rise of gender neutrality has driven women toward the purchase of historically male-oriented categories and ‘masculine’ designs,” observes Federica Levato, senior partner and EMEA leader of fashion and luxury at management consultancy Bain Co.
Until now, the watch industry was often more focused on male clients, convinced that women would be content with “female” versions — usually meaning smaller dials and a sprinkle of diamonds. But influential voices on social media, such as Dimepiece’s Brynn Wallner and YouTuber Jenni Elle, have helped to reshape the conversation around women and watches, highlighting women’s more varied preferences.
At Audemars Piguet, the message has been heard loud and clear. “My team and I have listened, learned and studied,” says Ginny Wright, chief executive of the Americas for Audemars Piguet. “We have a much better understanding of what women consider and how they purchase watches differently than their male counterparts. In the US, we are targeting female entrepreneurs and executives from Gen Z to Gen X. We are reaching them in relevant, meaningful ways — not just talking to them about the product but also the values and issues that are important to them.”
It’s working, she says. “In 2021, self-purchasing female clients represented 16 per cent of our business. In 2022, this climbed to 24 per cent. Our goal is 30 per cent female self-purchasers by 2024.”
Women executives are a rising force across the company. Wright joined in 2021 from L Oréal. Olivia Crouan, previously in the drinks sector with LVMH-owned Hennessy, has been chief brand officer since 2018. Wright says that the leadership team in the Americas is 70 per cent women.
Women are leading the way in key positions at other watch brands too. In 2017, Cartier appointed Marie-Laure Cérède as the head of its watch division. Fellow Richemont-owned brand Jaeger-LeCoultre appointed Catherine Rénier as CEO in 2018 — she comes from a background in jewellery at Van Cleef Arpels and Cartier. Fatti Laleh joined Piaget in 2020 as the global director of image and communications after many years in advertising in New York and Paris.
Gender-neutral design
The female influence was palpable in the product offer presented at this year’s Watches Wonders (27 March to 2 April) in Geneva, with ‘watchellery’ (bejewelled watches) in the spotlight. After years of male-centred pieces displaying intricate complications, Cartier presented bejewelled versions of its classic Tank de Cartier and new designs for Baignoire, another revived style from the past.
Jaeger-LeCoultre and Piaget reintroduced pendant sautoir watches, last popular in the 1920s and the late 1960s. Laleh is quick to point out that Piaget’s offer is not specifically conceived to please women. “We are not launching products to target a category or an area; we are thinking about iconising our products, and by doing so, we make them evolve into more accessible or more high jewellery versions that will match everyone’s needs.” Men are more attracted to delicate designs today, she adds. Singer The Weeknd wore a diamond-encrusted Piaget Gala watch (with a ‘feminine’ 26-millimetre dial) to this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The focus on women or gender-neutral consumers is driving change across alpha-male brands too. Hublot and Panerai have progressively reduced the dimensions of their dials, now available from 32 millimetres and 38 millimetres, respectively. They have also engaged female ambassadors such as Chiara Ferragni (for Hublot) and Chinese actress Dilraba (for Panerai). Zenith has removed the ‘women s watches’ designation from its online shop, acknowledging that female tastes now range widely from the muscular to the delicate.
All this is delivering positive results. Allied Market Research notes that the women s watch segment, valued at $23.7 billion in 2019, is expected to reach $26.7 billion by 2027. “Women are becoming savvier and more willing to invest in watches, and we have seen a shift in demand from our clients,” observes Lauren Virk, buyer at The Watches of Switzerland Group.
Levato of Bain Co. says watchmakers’ attention to women is also helping to strengthen the core male-centred business. “Women have more influence on men on their purchases. Through this lens, women are an amazing opportunity to enlarge the customer base for the watch category both as an additional target [market] and [for their] influence on men too.”
Different thinking
Audemars Piguet’s recent hires point to another trend. As well as inviting in more female executives, the luxury watch industry is opening up to new ideas from outside the sector.
Oliver Müller, founder of consultancy LuxeConsult and co-author of a Morgan Stanley report on watches, believes that the sector has much to gain by recruiting executives from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. “Many industry insiders will object that FMCG branding is not compatible with luxury marketing, but I think that all the trends in branding are coming from FMCG rather than luxury.” Procter Gamble — where Resta worked for more than 20 years — is “one of the best schools of marketing”, Müller adds.
Bernstein analyst Luca Solca agrees. “The luxury industry is relatively young,” he says, “Injecting executives with a strong experience in related industries like FMCG or beauty is a good idea. It [has] worked wonders at LVMH.”
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