
Apple Helps Push U.S. Watch Sales to Biggest Drop in Seven Years - philip1209
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-07/apple-helps-push-u-s-watch-sales-to-biggest-drop-in-seven-years
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stephengillie
Apple doesn't say how many watches they've sold, but...

> _That would suggest the company may have sold at least 1.9 million watches,
> assuming the Apple Watch had an average selling price of $499. NPD estimates
> the traditional watch industry sold 927,500 timepieces in June in the U.S._

So the Apple is estimated to have sold twice as many of their Apple Watches as
traditional watches have been sold? And traditional watch sales only declined
11%?

I don't know that Apple are eating traditional watches so much as providing a
new accessory to own.

~~~
IBM
If anything happens to the traditional watch industry it will be over a long
period once people are conditioned into having something with more utility on
their wrist.

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PaulHoule
If Apple is killing watches it is not because of Apple watch, it is because if
you have an iPhone you don't need a watch.

~~~
tzs
I'm not sure about that explanation. Clocks were very common on cell phones
long before the iPhone came along.

The iPhone greatly changed the type of cell phone people carried, but I don't
think it changed the number of people who carried cell phones, so would it
really have had much influence on whether or not people used a watch?

~~~
enraged_camel
>>I'm not sure about that explanation. Clocks were very common on cell phones
long before the iPhone came along.

But people weren't using "dumb phones" nearly to the same extent that they use
smartphones today.

If you had a Nokia 3210, the only time you used the phone was for calls and
text messages (and also for playing Snake, but that took up the whole screen
and you couldn't see what time it was).

~~~
tdkl
Eh ? You took the phone out to check the time as same as you do now in the
smartphone era and I remember people stopping to wear watches for the same
reason.

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animefan
_The market for watches that cost less than $1,000 is most at risk, as
consumers in that price range have indicated they’re the most likely to buy an
Apple Watch_

This makes perfect sense. IPhones are already a status signal, while sub $1000
watches are a pretty ambiguous status signal. If you knew enough about watches
to tell a $100 watch from a $500 watch, you probably wouldn't be impressed by
either.

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SG-
I really hate how that site plays video automatically and is using something
to hide the player controls along with the ability to pause.

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listic

        U.S. Watch Sales
    

...including the Apple Watch?

~~~
tedunangst
Nope. Only watches sold at department and jewelry stores (also excludes Amazon
and Walmart).

~~~
duaneb
> (also excludes Amazon and Walmart)

What value is this again? That seems like the majority of the market right
there.

~~~
Axsuul
Watches are a niche market with die-hard enthusiasts and fervent collectors.
If you are planning on purchasing a high-end watch, you're more likely to step
into a jewelry or watch-only shop, or watch specialist or distributor. Big box
stores simply don't carry these types of watches nor are you getting the best
deal for one if you find them there. Not to mention, you're at risk that it
might be a fake. We're talking about brands such as Patek Philippe, Audemars
Piguet, JLC, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex, and Hublot.

~~~
duaneb
How many people actually buy high-end watches, though? Surely it's a tiny
portion of the consumer base. I would also highly, highly doubt that most
would want to replace a rolex with a watch that is highly likely to die,
break, or obsolesce.

Maybe the watch market is dying because it's only useful as a status item.

~~~
Axsuul
It's not simply just a status symbol, it's saying you appreciate the finer
things in life and that you are someone interesting. In the world of business,
having these accessories and toys can be very beneficial to your career and
networking. Unfortunately, that's just show society works these days and has
been working for the past few centuries. Being able to wear a Audemars Piguet
into a restaurant and having the gentleman across the room come by and
compliment your watch can open many doors. But that's not say that's why most
people wear these high-end watches. I don't think it clicks for most people
until you actually wear one of these things on your wrists. And you're simply
a watch enthusiast or you aren't one--many would argue to say its in their
blood. The way I see it, watches are an important investment and something
that every man (and woman) should have in their arsenal.

And touching on just how big the market actually is, big enough to warrant VC
funding: [http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/11/kevin-roses-watchville-
and-...](http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/11/kevin-roses-watchville-and-watch-
blog-hodinkee-find-the-time-to-merge/)

~~~
duaneb
> it's saying you appreciate the finer things in life and that you are someone
> interesting

Another way of saying it is "you spend your money on worthless crap". This is
emphatically not what I think of you, understand, just that wearing expensive
jewelry may open doors, but it will also cause people to judge you. Perhaps
rightfully so.

Personally, I would never want to think that anything I earned was through
cultural manipulation. Of course, I can't help it, but I also can't help being
a white male.

I really take issue with people who attempt to argue that jewelry is anything
but a frivolous luxury.

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martindk
Swiss Watch Exports up 5,1% in June 2015. I guess that is also because of the
apple watch then :)

Source:
[http://www.fhs.ch/scripts/getstat.php?file=comm_150606_a.pdf](http://www.fhs.ch/scripts/getstat.php?file=comm_150606_a.pdf)

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sebastianavina
and here i am waiting for my huawei watch

