The Birth of the Swatch

S(trengths) – Foxy Originals has saturated the Canadian market, which presents an opportunity for growth. The two owners have extensive experience in designing jewelry, having done so since they were in high school. They’re good at what they do and have had time to perfect their trade. They also have a firm grasp of who their target market is, so they are able to offer “fresh, fun, and funky” products at a reasonable price. With such a specific product (rather than just general jewelry), it creates a niche market that will generate loyal customers.

Able to diversify its product range to meet market demand including women’s wear, men’s wear, accessories and home wares.

were branded to the bone. They always understood that they were selling brands before product. They had their eyes fixed on global expansion.

The purpose of this study is to explore three companies by focusing on how the brands have been performing as well as what the customers and other stakeholders are saying about the different brands. This study will also summarize the strategic issues that the companies and those they are likely to experience in future.

Brand competitors and the diversity of choice that is available to consumers, puts brands under pressure to offer high quality products and service, excellent value and a wide availability (Clifton et al., 2009). Brands must differentiate themselves from the competition and create an unforgettable impression.

Telling time has never been simpler with the latest self-winding wristwatches. Wanting to improve the watches used in trenches during the Great War, watch repairman John Harwood aspired to create a watch that wound from the inside. This was in order to protect them from being ruined by dirt entering the crown, or the piece which winds the watch. Harwood’s goal was not to make the process easier for others; however, he was able to do so, though the winding only lasted 12 hours. Notwithstanding, he sold quite a few of his self-winding watches. Soon, Harwood ran out of money and, consequently, his company went out of business. Many manufacturers attempted to improve the design, the most notable being Rolex, who decided to innovate Harwood’s watch.

One of its biggest strategies has been to rebrand and clean up its image that has seen it take advantage of new customer attitude and ensure consumer loyalty. The rebranding of the Central Selling Organization to the Diamond Trading Company helped it get rid of the stockpiling tag and reduce the connotations on unfair practices. This was a part of its new shift from a supply driven market to the demand driven market.

They are a homogeneous organization as their main focus is shoes. They hold a very strong position in the luxury shoe market considering that they are one of very few luxury shoe brands specialist to compete globally. They have the merchandising, design, supply chain, communication and retail skills to perform at their best in this complex luxury shoe market.

The brand seeks great opportunity to further develop the business, enhance product design as well as company’s brand image.

There Is a similar relation among the clothes. Several customers shop there based on the quality and prices as well as the features associated with the products. An advantage of the store is that it has a wide product mix and various offering in different categories and all these can be located at one place. This attracts a wide variety of customers. In line with their positioning of offering quality, trendy products, the brand is consistently updating its product line. The brand does not focus on innovation but rather on always leading trends. In relation to the product life cycle, clothing has a short life span from the first to last stage as tastes change easily. For this reason, it is important to constantly anticipate consumer tastes and preferences prior to launching a product so as to retain and possibly build customers loyalty. It is also necessary to develop a successful marketing strategy to display product offerings.

In 1997, the De Ville range became the first commercially available watches in the world to use co-axil escapement, a revolutionary piece of technology invented by English watchmaker George Daniels which has become an essential component of all of Omega’s best watches and has become almost synonymous with the brand. This single piece of technology significantly decreases the friction on the watch’s components, meaning it requires less lubrication, lasts for much longer, and doesn’t require nearly as much

team designed watches with focused distribution in specialty surf, skate, snow, and fashion stores. It

What is interesting in this market is that there are no clear leaders. Even though each company’s goal is to make the more profit as possible, we can’t define any leader since they have different strategies and objectives.8 [ (Tower) ] For example, Patek Philippe’s core ideology is to have the most prestigious brand and to make the most expensive watch as possible, and target the most prestigious people which is a really niche market. In comparison, Rolex’s purpose is to be a more accessible luxury brand and make the most sales as possible. It is difficult to compare them in terms of success, Rolex sells more but Patek has a much higher reputation.

Middle class is booming worldwide and with prosperity comes consumers ' desire to show that they are doing well, therefore super brands like Danish Pandora and British Signet also called “category killers”, has stormed the global jewellery market where there is money to fight for. Pandora competes in affordable luxury segment, which in 2009 totalled 83 billion USD, equivalent to approx. 57% of the total market for fine jewellery. Affordable luxury still gives consumers the feel of stardust.

The jewelry industry is a thriving one with many jewelry stores as well as department stores providing the service. This means that there are many choices for the consumer when it comes to purchasing jewelry. The problem Blue Nile faces is brand loyalty. Being relatively new to the jewelry scene Blue Nile’s biggest challenge will be to lure away customers from competitors like Zales or even