Swatch

Swatch (short for Swiss Watch) was first launched in 1983 by the Swiss Corporation for Microelectronics and Watchmaking Industries which today is known as the Swatch Group. While Switzerland has had a longstanding tradition of precision watchmaking, the Swatch was specifically launched at a time when the country’s leadership and market share was declining because of increasing competition from abroad.

At the time of its creation, the primary differentiator of the Swatch was its relative simplicity. The watch was designed and engineered to work using 51 mechanical components while rival manufacturers had almost twice as many. Most importantly for the consumer, the Swatch was a high quality timepiece at an affordable price.

Like Victorinox, innovation has been an important component of Swatch’s business success. Never one to shy away from leveraging new technologies, Swatch has launched a variety of unique and multifunctional timepieces. For instance, the Swatch SKIN Chrono was designed to be and marketed as the thinnest chronograph on the market. Embedded in the Swatch Snowpass is a microchip which gives the watch the added functionality of being a ski pass providing consumers with access to over 700 ski resorts around the world.

Swatch is clearly a well established global brand and has also held the spotlight as the official timekeeper of such high profile events as the Olympics and Ski & Snowboard World Cup.

Note: Swatch Group is the parent company of numerous successful watch brands including: Omega, Longines, Rado, Tissot, Calvin Klein, Blancpain and Breguet. (Primary Source: www.swatch.com)