SJX and Chronos Japan are breaking some major news this morning: Seiko has announced that they will not be participating in the upcoming Baselworld, scheduled for May of 2020.
Baselworld is the largest watch trade show in the world, but in recent years has seen brands fleeing the show as the watch retail landscape has changed dramatically. The Swatch Group bowed out of Baselworld in 2019.
As reported by Yasuhito Shibuya of Chronos Japan, Seiko’s official position is that they are leaving the fair due to its timing. Next year’s fair marks the first year the event will be held in May, timed to coincide more closely with the SIHH show (now known as Watches and Wonders). Shibuya also writes: “The fair happens a month later, coinciding with the Golden Week in Japan – a period with four consecutive national holidays within seven days. This is a particularly disappointing time for Japanese watchmakers.”
Just as Swatch Group brands held their own events outside of the Baselworld ecosystem to promote their new products and sell through to their retail channels, Seiko will be launching next year’s product lines at a recently announced event in Tokyo to take place in March: the Grand Seiko Summit.
More information can be found at Watches by SJX here and Chronos Japan here (in Japanese).
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