Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet Say Farewell to SIHH

Both Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet announced today that they will no longer be attending Geneva's SIHH watch trade show beginning in January Richard Mille announced earlier this afternoon that the company would be pulling out of the show; Audemars Piguet followed suit just hours later with a statement that it would also no longer participate in SIHH as well In Richard Mille's statement, the brand said the development of its international distribution network, including its growing number of Richard Mille boutiques, has resulted in the watchmaker drastically reducing its presence with multi-brand retailers and therefore, no longer sees the tradeshow as useful to their strategy.

Audemars Piguet had been showing at SIHH for nearly a decade Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet have been leading the charge on the new business model, which has already taken hold in many other industries, including fashion The world's largest watch conglomerate pulling out of the trade show was huge news at a time when the trade show had already seen its attendance cut nearly in half-itself a consequence of other brands leaving the show.

Many wondered if it was the beginning of the end for Baselworld; the industry buzzed with speculation about whether or not Rolex and Patek Philippe would remain, as the show simply wouldn't be able to survive without them in the void left behind by Swatch. . Source