The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
ZURICH, Switzerland — Swiss watch shops will be stocked with a whole new range of smartwatches in coming weeks as producers race Apple Inc. to get a lead in Switzerland, the home of brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe.
Montblanc showcased an “e-Strap,” which can make a watch receive e-mails and control music playlists, at a press briefing Friday. The device, which is clipped into the band of a watch, will go on sale at the end of this month.
The Apple Watch enters Switzerland June 26, and Swiss watchmakers are scrambling to add electronic functions to their products. Elmar Mock, one of the inventors of the Swatch, said in March that the Californian company’s device may cause an “ice age” for the Swiss watch industry.
Frederique Constant’s smartwatch will reach stores in the U.S. and Switzerland next week. Mondaine’s first Helvetica Smart model will be available for pre-order online mid-July, while four other models will go on sale by October, according to Chief Executive Officer Andre Bernheim.
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Movado Group Inc. plans to introduce wearable technology in its namesake brand ahead of the Christmas gift-buying season, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Efraim Grinberg told analysts on a May 27 conference call.
Swatch Group AG will start selling a namesake timepiece that can make mobile payments around July or August, while LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE has said it will introduce a $1,400 TAG Heuer smartwatch later this year.
Montblanc's e-Strap accompanies the brand's TimeWalker watches and will also allow users to track physical activity. The brand is owned by Cie. Financiere Richemont SA, whose chairman, Johann Rupert, has said it will probably only introduce electronic functions into straps and not the case of a watch, so the timepiece doesn't become outdated. Richemont's IWC brand also plans an intelligent watchband device.
By Corinne Gretler; editor: Matthew Boyle.
The app, owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance, has been promising to help emerging US labels get started selling in China at the same time that TikTok stares down a ban by the US for its ties to China.
Zero10 offers digital solutions through AR mirrors, leveraged in-store and in window displays, to brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Coach. Co-founder and CEO George Yashin discusses the latest advancements in AR and how fashion companies can leverage the technology to boost consumer experiences via retail touchpoints and brand experiences.
Four years ago, when the Trump administration threatened to ban TikTok in the US, its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. worked out a preliminary deal to sell the short video app’s business. Not this time.
Brands are using them for design tasks, in their marketing, on their e-commerce sites and in augmented-reality experiences such as virtual try-on, with more applications still emerging.