EXCLUSIVE: Who is in and who is out of next year's Baselworld?

The fallout from Swatch Group's bombshell move to leave next year's Baselworld has been muted this month, with most of Switzerland's watchmaking businesses taking their annual holidays in August "After constructive talks with Baselworld management, and in particular with other leading brands, we have decided to take part in Baselworld 2019 as an exhibitor," said chief executive Georges Kern At the time, just as this year's Baselworld was ending, Rolex's CEO, Jean-Frederique Dufour, said: "We are very happy with this year's edition of Baselworld.

Our new products were extremely well received by our clients and the press This annual event remains a 'must' for the Swiss watch industry, its evolution and its dynamism, which was proven by the strong participation and avid enthusiasm We are looking forward to Baselworld 2019".

If Baselworld's March 31 statement holds up, the next block of Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe and Chopard will all be there Baselworld might choose to close down the back third of Hall 1.0 in the hope that it can attract Swatch Group to return in 2020 "It is quite regrettable to know that Swatch Group's cancellation to the Baselworld had been announced.

We have to acknowledge that not only the cost efficiency but also the global PR impact by exhibiting at the Baselworld is getting less effective than before with the spread of social medias still we Citizen Watch Group considers Baselworld as one of the most important event and best place to tell the brand story by showcasing our new products and technologies As such, we continuously will be presenting at Baselworld 2019," the company said in a statement to WatchPro this week "Preparations are currently remain underway for 2019 but we are obviously keeping our eyes on the whole situation including any decisions made by other exhibitors.

For Seiko, Baselworld has been very successful for us, both commercially and from a PR perspective We have benefited from the exposure generated by the media and journalists who visit our booth and the event has obviously given us an opportunity to meet with our UK retail partners For Seiko, we believe that the benefits of participating in Baselworld have justified the costs.

However, looking ahead to the future clearly there are many factors that currently remain unknown." . Source