New watch report highlights Chinese consumer trends (April 2009)

02 may 2009 - source The Moodie Report

The 5th edition of the World Watch Report market study published by IC-Agency, a company specialising in luxury digital marketing, deciphers queries entered into Internet search engines for 25 luxury watch brands.

The survey covers seven major export markets: China, Japan, the US, the UK, Italy, France and Germany.

MAIN TRENDS REVEALED IN THE 2009 REPORT

Global demand distribution for luxury watches:

Europe represents the major market share (44.2%), with the UK leading (14.6%), followed by Germany (12.1%), Italy (9.6%) and France (7.7%). The US is still by far the most important single market (42.8%).

Asia is still weak, with 13.2% market share, but China (7.4%) overtakes Japan (5.8%), whereas the level of Internet use there is only 22%, compared to 74% in Japan.

The Chinese are mainly interested in brands (77%) and are less interested in models (less than 10%, whereas that figure is usually around 18%), confirming the awakening interest in Swiss watch culture and the importance of product marketing.

The most demanded models:

Omega holds the two top places in the top 20 models ranking, with Seamaster (7.8%) and Speedmaster (4.7%) overtaking Rolex's Daytona, which at 4.3% drops from second place to third.

TAG Heuer's Link (10th place), Rolex's Date (16th place) and Omega's Planet Ocean (20th place) enter the ranking for the first time.

Luxury watch ambassadors:

Omega, the highest ranked brand with 17%, uses the "Michael Phelps effect", the survey says. The American swimmer beat the gold medal record in a single Olympics, winning eight medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Six of TAG-Heuer's ambassadors are ranked in the top 20. At the top is golfer Tiger Woods, who garners 15% of searches, followed by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan (7%), Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton (4%), actor Leonardo DiCaprio (3%), tennis star Maria Sharapova (3%) and deceased actor and racing driver Steve McQueen (2%).

Counterfeiting:

The main market for counterfeit goods is still the US, representing over 66% of global demand. However, the overall figure remains marginal (6%) compared to the total number of searches for authentic products (94%).

Eighty percent of demand for counterfeit products is for Rolex. The remaining 20% is divided up between the other 24 brands analysed.

Japan is the only country in which there are more searches for counterfeit goods on Omega (15%) than Rolex (11%).

Social media networks:

Brand advertising on official websites is no longer enough, according to the survey authors.

Facebook (180 million members): Cartier dominates Facebook with 30,000 fans, followed by TAG-Heuer (18,500), Rolex (17,500), Bulgari (14,300) and Breitling (13,600).

The report's authors pose the question: "Are multi-product brands better positioned to grasp the opportunity presented by social media?"

YouTube (100 million videos viewed monthly): Videos posted by fans are now taking up 38% of brand visibility.

"Is this an opportunity to support these fans who often have a high power of persuasion?" ask the authors.

About the World Watch Report

The World Watch Report market study, carried out by IC-Agency, is published in partnership with the watch magazine Europa Star (www.europastar.com) and analyses demand for 25 luxury watch brands in seven markets. Luxury watches: Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, Breguet, Girard-Perregaux, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Franck Muller, Zenith, IWC. Women's jewellery: Bulgari, Cartier, Chopard, Piaget. Prestige: Breitling, Hublot, Omega, Rolex, TAG-Heuer. High-range: Baume & Mercier, Ebel, Longines, Montblanc, Raymond Weil, Rado.

About IC-Agency

IC-Agency is a leader in luxury digital marketing. Based in Europe (Switzerland) and North America (Canada), the company offers analysis, promotion, optimisation and protection for brands, products and services. Among IC-Agency's clients are many independent luxury brands, as well as brands belonging to groups such as Swatch, Richemont, LVMH and PPR/Gucci.

For details, contact IC-Agency Sàrl, avenue Krieg 7, CH-1208 Genève, Switzerland, tel: +41 22 702 07 60, fax: +41 22 702 07 69, e-mail info@ic-agency.com Visit www.worldwatchreport.com