Adeus Baselworld, olá HourUniverse

O dono da Baselworld, MCH Group, anunciou hoje um novo certame, para Abril de 2021, aparentemente nas mesmas instalações de Basileia onde durante décadas decorreu aquela que já foi a maior feira de relojoaria do mundo. O nome muda, e passa a ser HourUniverse, e tem uma forte componente digital.

Mas, perguntamos nós: com a empresa praticamente falida, à espera de injecção de capital do grupo Murdoch, e sem a presença de marcas como as dos grupos LVMH, Richemont, Kering, Fossil, Movado, Festina, Timex ou Swatch, e sem grandes independentes como Rolex, Tudor, Breitling, Chopard, Patek Philippe ou Audemars Piguet, como será o primeiro salão HourUniverse em Abril de 2021?

O comunicado:

MCH is creating a new concept for a global platform for the watch, jewellery and gemstone industries: HOURUNIVERSE.

Two months to listen, analyse, identify; and create. An innovative platform to meet today's needs. To unite and support a whole community that wants to regroup, make a new start and is receptive to change.

Open, modern, experimental, inclusive, user-friendly, interconnected, the MCH teams have put all their expertise and the feedback and input from customers and other stakeholders into giving birth to a new platform concept.

An extended ecosystem

Live and virtual, active all year round, benefiting from the latest technologies for content, and for networking, the new platform is dedicated to players in the watch, jewellery and gemstone industries, but not exclusively.

The new concept is a B2B2C meeting point that places the customer at the heart of its focus, reversing the order of the past. The entire platform is thought out and designed around the customer. This applies to all players of the distribution chain, traditional and online retailers, including those of the CPO (certified Pre-Owned).

Flanking them, the platform will build an extended ecosystem with watch, jewellery and gemstone brands, developers of new solutions in distribution, marketing and points of sale, and other players of the industry. A global, varied, interconnected, unified world.

A 365 platform, with an annual live meeting

Named HOURUNIVERSE, the platform will be digitally active throughout the year and will host an annual live show.

A community platform that creates bridges between buyers and sellers and all the players in the industry, it is also a place that encourages exchanges, information-sharing, content creation, reflection through talks and conferences that also provide visibility for brands and their products.

In April 2021, the community will meet at HOURUNIVERSE in Basel, Switzerland. The show will be aligned with the watchmaking events in Geneva, in the best interests of the international community which will only have to travel to Switzerland once a year.

The show will reinforce contacts thanks to new tools, the creation of content, a maximum of Touch & Feel experiences, as well as moments of conviviality, networking and fully integrated events. Along with this new customer-oriented approach, a new competitive hospitality concept will also be an integral part of the packages proposed, and those associated players of Basel life will not be exempt from this involvement.

The detailed concept of HOURUNIVERSE will be unveiled late August in combination with the start of marketing.

HOURUNIVERSE: IT'S WE TIME!