Decline in Baselworld watch fair attendances follows complaints from exhibitors

The biggest story to come out of this year's Baselworld - a trade fair of the international watch and jewellery industry held in March in the city of Basel, Switzerland - wasn't about watches, but about the fair itself; more specifically, what its future might be - and whether it even has one Baselworld was cut short by two days and the space inside the venue, Messe Basel, was decreased, with watch brands taking up only the first two floors of Hall 1, and half of Hall 2 gone Baselworld "Is a big part of our budget; it's the only way to be able to present so many collections to so many people", says Christian Lattmann, CEO of Jaquet Droz"But what people don't like about Baselworld is the organisation used to be too arrogant about prices" The problem is that the Baselworld organisers "Need to adapt" says Raynald Aeschlimann, CEO of Omega, who adds that what made Baselworld special was the brands that occupied the halls, not the organisation or Basel.

"The whole concept [of] Baselworld is about the world of brands," he says He adds: "Baselworld is still the biggest fair by far, much more so than the Geneva fair What counts are the real actors, like Swatch Group, Rolex, Patek Philippe, LVMH - [they] are here.

And if these [brands] stay here, Baselworld will still be the number one show in the world." Sylvie Ritter, managing director of Baselworld for the past 15 years, has stepped down, making way for Michel Loris-Melikoff, who started on July 1, and brings fresh new strategies to reinvigorate the jewellery sector; improve catering; hospitality and event services, and create a day for the media. . Source