Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by stephengillie on Friday August 07, 2015 @07:08PM
(#10025524)
Apple doesn't say how many watches they've sold, but...
> That would suggest the company may have sold at least 1.9 million watches, assuming the Apple Watch had an average selling price of $499. NPD estimates the traditional watch industry sold 927,500 timepieces in June in the U.S.
So the Apple is estimated to have sold twice as many of their Apple Watches as traditional watches have been sold? And traditional watch sales only declined 11%?
I don't know that Apple are eating traditional watches so much as providing a new accessory to own.
Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by IBM on Friday August 07, 2015 @09:00PM
(#10025911)
If anything happens to the traditional watch industry it will be over a long period once people are conditioned into having something with more utility on their wrist.
Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by tzs on Friday August 07, 2015 @09:32PM
(#10025979)
I'm not sure about that explanation. Clocks were very common on cell phones long before the iPhone came along.
The iPhone greatly changed the type of cell phone people carried, but I don't think it changed the number of people who carried cell phones, so would it really have had much influence on whether or not people used a watch?
Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by enraged_camel on Friday August 07, 2015 @09:47PM
(#10026015)
>>I'm not sure about that explanation. Clocks were very common on cell phones long before the iPhone came along.
But people weren't using "dumb phones" nearly to the same extent that they use smartphones today.
If you had a Nokia 3210, the only time you used the phone was for calls and text messages (and also for playing Snake, but that took up the whole screen and you couldn't see what time it was).
Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by tdkl on Saturday August 08, 2015 @03:54AM
(#10026656)
Eh ? You took the phone out to check the time as same as you do now in the smartphone era and I remember people stopping to wear watches for the same reason.
Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by animefan on Friday August 07, 2015 @08:22PM
(#10025809)
The market for watches that cost less than $1,000 is most at risk, as consumers in that price range have indicated they’re the most likely to buy an Apple Watch
This makes perfect sense. IPhones are already a status signal, while sub $1000 watches are a pretty ambiguous status signal. If you knew enough about watches to tell a $100 watch from a $500 watch, you probably wouldn't be impressed by either.
Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by tedunangst on Friday August 07, 2015 @07:58PM
(#10025726)
Well, if you're an analyst, you analyze the data you have, not the data you need. Or something.
I suspect the people paying for this research are in the watches sold in department stores industry. To some extent, they're only concerned about their little microcosm.
Then these reports get churned out and Bloomberg publishes them because they need to publish something and it's cheaper than doing more extensive research of their own.
Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by Axsuul on Friday August 07, 2015 @07:55PM
(#10025718)
Watches are a niche market with die-hard enthusiasts and fervent collectors. If you are planning on purchasing a high-end watch, you're more likely to step into a jewelry or watch-only shop, or watch specialist or distributor. Big box stores simply don't carry these types of watches nor are you getting the best deal for one if you find them there. Not to mention, you're at risk that it might be a fake. We're talking about brands such as Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, JLC, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex, and Hublot.
Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by duaneb on Friday August 07, 2015 @08:37PM
(#10025847)
How many people actually buy high-end watches, though? Surely it's a tiny portion of the consumer base. I would also highly, highly doubt that most would want to replace a rolex with a watch that is highly likely to die, break, or obsolesce.
Maybe the watch market is dying because it's only useful as a status item.
================================================================
Number of watches sold annually worldwide 1,200,000,000
Number of smartwatches sold in 2014 6,800,000
Average price of a smartwatch sold in 2014 $189
Number of Swiss Watches sold annually 29,200,000
Number of watches produced by China annually 663,000,000
Number of watches produced by Hong Kong annually 354,000,000
Average cost of a Swiss watch $739
Average cost of a China watch $3
Switzerland watch market share in terms of value 54 %
Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by Axsuul on Friday August 07, 2015 @09:21PM
(#10025956)
It's not simply just a status symbol, it's saying you appreciate the finer things in life and that you are someone interesting. In the world of business, having these accessories and toys can be very beneficial to your career and networking. Unfortunately, that's just show society works these days and has been working for the past few centuries. Being able to wear a Audemars Piguet into a restaurant and having the gentleman across the room come by and compliment your watch can open many doors. But that's not say that's why most people wear these high-end watches. I don't think it clicks for most people until you actually wear one of these things on your wrists. And you're simply a watch enthusiast or you aren't one--many would argue to say its in their blood. The way I see it, watches are an important investment and something that every man (and woman) should have in their arsenal.
Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by duaneb on Saturday August 08, 2015 @01:15PM
(#10027924)
> it's saying you appreciate the finer things in life and that you are someone interesting
Another way of saying it is "you spend your money on worthless crap". This is emphatically not what I think of you, understand, just that wearing expensive jewelry may open doors, but it will also cause people to judge you. Perhaps rightfully so.
Personally, I would never want to think that anything I earned was through cultural manipulation. Of course, I can't help it, but I also can't help being a white male.
I really take issue with people who attempt to argue that jewelry is anything but a frivolous luxury.
Re:Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seve...
by icelancer on Friday August 07, 2015 @09:33PM
(#10025986)
I think the last sentence is a little ridiculous, but I wear a Breitling Navitimer and it gets plenty of attention. Or it used to in my last job in finance. Now that I've moved on, no one really cares. My Movado I got for $300 is "cooler" looking to the average person.
> That would suggest the company may have sold at least 1.9 million watches, assuming the Apple Watch had an average selling price of $499. NPD estimates the traditional watch industry sold 927,500 timepieces in June in the U.S.
So the Apple is estimated to have sold twice as many of their Apple Watches as traditional watches have been sold? And traditional watch sales only declined 11%?
I don't know that Apple are eating traditional watches so much as providing a new accessory to own.
The iPhone greatly changed the type of cell phone people carried, but I don't think it changed the number of people who carried cell phones, so would it really have had much influence on whether or not people used a watch?
But people weren't using "dumb phones" nearly to the same extent that they use smartphones today.
If you had a Nokia 3210, the only time you used the phone was for calls and text messages (and also for playing Snake, but that took up the whole screen and you couldn't see what time it was).
This makes perfect sense. IPhones are already a status signal, while sub $1000 watches are a pretty ambiguous status signal. If you knew enough about watches to tell a $100 watch from a $500 watch, you probably wouldn't be impressed by either.
What value is this again? That seems like the majority of the market right there.
I suspect the people paying for this research are in the watches sold in department stores industry. To some extent, they're only concerned about their little microcosm.
Then these reports get churned out and Bloomberg publishes them because they need to publish something and it's cheaper than doing more extensive research of their own.
+ EBay
Maybe the watch market is dying because it's only useful as a status item.
http://www.statisticbrain.com/wrist-watch-industry-statistic...
And touching on just how big the market actually is, big enough to warrant VC funding: http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/11/kevin-roses-watchville-and-...
Another way of saying it is "you spend your money on worthless crap". This is emphatically not what I think of you, understand, just that wearing expensive jewelry may open doors, but it will also cause people to judge you. Perhaps rightfully so.
Personally, I would never want to think that anything I earned was through cultural manipulation. Of course, I can't help it, but I also can't help being a white male.
I really take issue with people who attempt to argue that jewelry is anything but a frivolous luxury.
It just depends on the environment you're in.
Source: http://www.fhs.ch/scripts/getstat.php?file=comm_150606_a.pdf