The year 2020 is shaping up to be a very challenging year for the luxury watch industry as two of its biggest tradeshows have decided to cancel their 2020 editions given the rise of the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping across the globe.
Baselworld and Watches & Wonders (formerly known as Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) had to make the hard decision to cancel the shows.
On Baselworld’s official website, the organiser stated that the show would have to push its original April 30 – May 5, 2020 date to Jan 28 – Feb 2, 2021.
According to Michel Loris-Melikoff, Managing Director of Baselworld, “We deeply regret having had to postpone the event as planned due to the coronavirus, in full consideration of the needs of the watch and jewellery industry to be able to benefit from the platform to develop their business.”
“By postponing the show to January 2021, we have found a solution that enables the industry and all our customers to avoid losing a full year and at the same time reset their calendars for the beginning of the year, a period that is conducive to the presentation of their new products, new trends and order taking,” he added.
The organisers of Watches & Wonders took a similar stance in an announcement made of Instagram that it made the hard decision to cancel its upcoming edition of the event, originally slated for April 25 – 29, 2020 and its ‘In the City’ program to protect the health and wellbeing of its guests.
“The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie understands the disappointment this year’s cancelation may cause, and remains at the disposal of its partners and guests for any queries they may have. The FHH is already working on the organization of 2021 edition of Watches & Wonders Geneva,” it said in a statement.
Baselworld and Watches & Wonders joins a growing list of postponed or cancelled events including the Geneva Motor Show, Mobile World Congres among many others.
