Giving in to years of pressure luxury, Swiss watchmakers are launching a new all-digital Watches & Wonders event to show off their latest products in a bid to revive sales hit by the coronavirus crisis.
Most makers of high-end watches still largely rely on physical stores for sales, but the success of online platforms for pre-owned watches, such as WatchBox and Watchfinder, have shown it is possible to sell luxury timepieces online.
Pandemic-related factory and store closures hit Swiss watch sales last year and have forced brands to boost their tiny online business and generally rethink digital activities.
Hermes said one of the reasons its watch business outperformed the industry last year was that its customers were already used to shopping on hermes.com.
