Tissot ANZ GM Scott Jungwirth details how the business evolves in a shifting customer landscape.
For almost all businesses, the ability to adapt to evolving consumer trends and desires is a crucial necessity if you want to not only survive, but thrive.
In most industries, those who don’t change with the times will fall behind the rest of the pack, and the watch industry is not exempt to this.
Swiss watches not only have a rich history of quality craftsmanship over centuries, but were built with design and longevity in mind.
Tissot does a great job of demonstrating how traditional timepieces remain a great purchase years and years on.
Watches are often given as gifts for graduations, weddings, or even parting gifts to long-serving employees.
They are symbolic, and nothing shows off a greater symbol than the words 'Swiss made' painted neatly on a watch dial.
Swiss watches do much more than tell the time; they are a luxury piece of jewelry and more than often a fashion statement.
However, as time goes by, Tissot has shown it has been able to adapt and grow to cater to the changing needs of consumers.
This doesn’t mean compromising on quality and longevity because our customers rely on expertise, and it’s important that we can service both traditional and digital watch markets.
In recent years, health and fitness-related functions have become an increasingly important driver when consumers consider their next watch purchase.
For traditional watch brands such as Tissot, considering how to ensure our products remain as aspirational and stylish as ever, while incorporating this type of functionality is incredibly important.
Tissot Sydney
Newer product releases like the Tissot T-Touch Cconnect Solar, which is a true descendant of the first multifunction tactile watch, truly embodies the Tissot philosophy: Innovators by tradition.
With a modern, racy, and sharp design, it confidently asserts its sporty, technical, and all-terrain identity featuring a solar charger, step counter, compass, barometer and iOS and Android compatibility.
The T-Touch Connect Solar is first and foremost a watch.
Developed by Swatch Group in collaboration with CSEM, the SwALPS operating system is fully Swiss made.
This certification of component origin and workmanship is a guarantee of manufacturing quality and of security.
The T-Touch Connect isn’t a smart or digital watch as such, it’s a connected watch, as Tissot chief executive Sylvain Dolla explained in this interview in The Australian.
"It’s a different value proposition.
"We are not selling a commodity — a consumer electronics device that will be phased out after two years and will not be working after three years.
"We have added connectivity for key functions.
"But even in let’s say six years — let’s go crazy and say bluetooth doesn’t exist anymore — you’ll still have a fine watch with hands, with functions that can be used in the non-connected way and you still keep the value of your watch," he said.
The strength the traditional Swiss watch currently has in today’s modern age gives testament to the quality craftsmanship throughout the centuries.
For Tissot, combining tradition whilst evolving within the modern age is something we have been doing for years.
From producing the first touch screen watch in 1999 and continuing to innovate as the world changes, finding strength in tradition has allowed us to maintain our existing customer base whilst also attracting new customers.