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I’ve long wondered why Swatch didn’t get into the Apple Watch band business.

varenc 3y ago
Swatch primarily makes money selling watches, so they probably think it’d be a bad look if they made watches for another brand, tacitly endorsing it.
- browningstreet 3y ago
  True, but volume growth has taken a hit. High end Swiss watch sales are climbing but overall watch sales are down. Swatch has the moon watches and such, but their pop watch market could reasonably be at risk against smart watches.
  - rocketbop 3y ago
    Swatch Group is so huge with so many brands like Omega, Longines, Hamilton, etc, I’m sure they look at the market holistically.
alt227 3y ago
Its an Apple proprietary system and as such there will be a large licensing cost, including most likely a per unit payment designed to let the 3rd party make the most paper thin of margins.
- browningstreet 3y ago
  And yet there are tons of official watch band makers.
  - alt227 3y ago
    Yes there are plenty of companies out there who will happily run their business with quantity of sales over quality of margin, however larger companies such as Swatch usually need a larger slice of the pie to make it worthwhile.
- reaperducer 3y ago
  most likely a per unit payment designed to let the 3rd party make the most paper thin of margins. Swatch doesn't make $20 disposable watches anymore. I was in a Swatch store a couple of weeks ago, and the majority were in the $150-$200 range, with some going for $500 or more. Swatch can afford to license the connector.
  - alt227 3y ago
    The point is not that they cant afford the license its that when they are selling their own products for hundreds of dollers, probably with $50 or more profit margin per unit, then making $2 profit per unit on a strap after licensing costs is not worth the manufacturing investment for such a big company.
    - reaperducer 3y ago
      I can just imagine Maude Flanders: "Oh, won't somebody think of the profits!" not worth the manufacturing investment for such a big company. Isn't the whole point of being a big company that you can make big investments that a small company can't?
      - ghaff 3y ago
        It's complicated. You can make larger investments. But, while you may have economies of scale for certain things, you probably also have overheads up and down and across the company for everything you do.
      - sokoloff 3y ago
        Being a big company may help in a lot of ways: easier/cheaper to re-use existing expertise, ability to make a larger number of speculative investments, often greater brand awareness, ability to sell products to an existing customer base, and others. It doesn't help nearly as much to overcome fundamentally unattractive unit economics (unless scale can make them later become attractive).
- CharlesW 3y ago
  > Its an Apple proprietary system and as such there will be a large licensing cost… That's incorrect. https://developer.apple.com/accessories/watch-bands/ https://developer.apple.com/accessories/watch-bands/
  - alt227 3y ago
    Fair enough, I dug further into it and the bands are one of 2 apple technologies which do not require licensing. Cases and watch bands. https://mfi.apple.com/en/who-should-join https://mfi.apple.com/en/who-should-join Who does not need to join: Developers and manufacturers of non-electronic accessories, including non-MagSafe cases and Apple Watch bands I apologise for my previous incorrect statements.
- zhte415 3y ago
  HP ink for my printer. Apple licensed strap for my watch. Next... Nike licensed shoelaces for my shoes?
B1FF_PSUVM 3y ago
Probably because they also don't have very good bands either. I have a 20+ year old Swatch Skin which I like mostly because I have to look at my wrist to know if I'm wearing it. A thin unimposing plastic thing, "did it come in a cereal box?" as a wit once asked at lunch. The Swatch leather-like bands get grungy and break in months, I've worn out a few. My local supplier closed, and the Ali Express replacement I finally got is wearing much better.

Swatch primarily makes money selling watches, so they probably think it’d be a bad look if they made watches for another brand, tacitly endorsing it.

browningstreet 3y ago
True, but volume growth has taken a hit. High end Swiss watch sales are climbing but overall watch sales are down. Swatch has the moon watches and such, but their pop watch market could reasonably be at risk against smart watches.
- rocketbop 3y ago
  Swatch Group is so huge with so many brands like Omega, Longines, Hamilton, etc, I’m sure they look at the market holistically.

alt227 3y ago

Its an Apple proprietary system and as such there will be a large licensing cost, including most likely a per unit payment designed to let the 3rd party make the most paper thin of margins.

browningstreet 3y ago
And yet there are tons of official watch band makers.
- alt227 3y ago
  Yes there are plenty of companies out there who will happily run their business with quantity of sales over quality of margin, however larger companies such as Swatch usually need a larger slice of the pie to make it worthwhile.
reaperducer 3y ago
most likely a per unit payment designed to let the 3rd party make the most paper thin of margins. Swatch doesn't make $20 disposable watches anymore. I was in a Swatch store a couple of weeks ago, and the majority were in the $150-$200 range, with some going for $500 or more. Swatch can afford to license the connector.
- alt227 3y ago
  The point is not that they cant afford the license its that when they are selling their own products for hundreds of dollers, probably with $50 or more profit margin per unit, then making $2 profit per unit on a strap after licensing costs is not worth the manufacturing investment for such a big company.
  - reaperducer 3y ago
    I can just imagine Maude Flanders: "Oh, won't somebody think of the profits!" not worth the manufacturing investment for such a big company. Isn't the whole point of being a big company that you can make big investments that a small company can't?
    - ghaff 3y ago
      It's complicated. You can make larger investments. But, while you may have economies of scale for certain things, you probably also have overheads up and down and across the company for everything you do.
    - sokoloff 3y ago
      Being a big company may help in a lot of ways: easier/cheaper to re-use existing expertise, ability to make a larger number of speculative investments, often greater brand awareness, ability to sell products to an existing customer base, and others. It doesn't help nearly as much to overcome fundamentally unattractive unit economics (unless scale can make them later become attractive).
CharlesW 3y ago
> Its an Apple proprietary system and as such there will be a large licensing cost… That's incorrect. https://developer.apple.com/accessories/watch-bands/ https://developer.apple.com/accessories/watch-bands/
- alt227 3y ago
  Fair enough, I dug further into it and the bands are one of 2 apple technologies which do not require licensing. Cases and watch bands. https://mfi.apple.com/en/who-should-join https://mfi.apple.com/en/who-should-join Who does not need to join: Developers and manufacturers of non-electronic accessories, including non-MagSafe cases and Apple Watch bands I apologise for my previous incorrect statements.
zhte415 3y ago
HP ink for my printer. Apple licensed strap for my watch. Next... Nike licensed shoelaces for my shoes?

B1FF_PSUVM 3y ago

Probably because they also don't have very good bands either. I have a 20+ year old Swatch Skin which I like mostly because I have to look at my wrist to know if I'm wearing it. A thin unimposing plastic thing, "did it come in a cereal box?" as a wit once asked at lunch. The Swatch leather-like bands get grungy and break in months, I've worn out a few. My local supplier closed, and the Ali Express replacement I finally got is wearing much better.