Sunday, July 19, 2015

LVMH To Launch Apple Watch Rival

LVMH´s watch division president, Jean-Claude Biver, has revealed that the French luxury conglomerate plans to launch a smart watch to compete with the Apple Watch.

The device, which will cost just over £1,000, aims to attract a new generation of consumers for whom a wrist piece has become a must-have item. Biver told German newspaper Handelsblatt that LVMH "welcomed the arrival of the Apple Watch because the marketing power of the Apple brand will help create a new class of clients enthusiastic about luxury watches," reports the Business Of Fashion - a sentiment shared by Kering's CEO of luxury watches and jewellery, Albert Bensoussan.


"Two creative people that are so involved in shaping the future coming back to the same values is an excellent thing," he told the Conde Nast International Luxury Conference in April referring to Apple Watch creators Jony Ive and Marc Newson. "I question its longevity, but I'm happy to have the focus back on the wrist."

LVMH, which owns the Zenith, Hublot and Tag Heuer watch brands, hopes to make the most impact with its new device in China, where it wants to focus on "winning market share, rather than being driven by specific sales and profit targets."

Biver also divulged in his announcement (which comes at a time when the appetite for the Apple Watch is reported to have wained) that a part of its strategy includes removing Tag Heuer's price category of €6,500 and instead focusing on producing watches starting at €1,500, making it more competitive with the Apple's mid-range watches which are priced between €700 and €1,250.

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