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 army knife maker Victorinox plans to unveil its version of a smartwatch by the start of next year, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
Swatch, the world's largest watchmaker, announced plans last month to put programmable chips in watches so wearers can make payments with a swipe of the wrist, while Tag Heuer, French luxury group LVMH's biggest watch maker, will launch a smartwatch later this year to compete with the Apple Watch.
"Our concept is something approaching a smartwatch," Victorinox Chief Executive Carl Elsener told Reuters by phone, confirming comments reported in a Swiss newspaper.
Elsener, whose great-grandfather Karl founded Victorinox in 1884, told the Aargauer Zeitung the firm would present the new watch at the end of the year or early 2016 at the latest.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We're looking ... for the opportunity to expand the functions of our watches. But at the same time the watch must have a long lifespan compared to a mobile phone or a computer," Elsener was quoted as saying in an interview published on Tuesday.
Elsener also said Victorinox had raised prices by up to 10 percent in the euro zone, responding to the Swiss franc's surge in January when the central bank abruptly abandoned its efforts to cap the currency.
By Joshua Franklin; editor: Ruth Pitchford.
The algorithms TikTok relies on for its operations are deemed core to ByteDance overall operations, which would make a sale of the app with algorithms highly unlikely.
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.