Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group has pulled out of the annual Baselworld watch and jewellery trade fair, as Reuters reports.
Swatch is the fair’s largest and most important sponsor, and it is not the first to pull out of the show. Several brands have already departed, citing high costs and insufficient returns.
Major exhibitors such as Swatch budget about USD$50m for each edition of the fair, and the loss off this revenue will be a huge hit for the show.
Swatch chief executive Nick Hayek was quoted as saying: “The Swatch Group has decided not to be present at Baselworld from 2019.” He cited the fair’s expensive exhibition building as a reason for the decision to withdraw.
Michel Loris-Melikoff, who took over as managing director of Baselworld at the beginning of this month, told Reuters: “It would be a great disappointment if the Swatch Group were to leave Baselworld. We are doing everything we can to keep them in Basel.”
