Omega’s high-stakes Olympics

This article is part of our Vogue Business Membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to Member-only reporting and insights, our NFT Tracker, Beauty Trend Tracker and TikTok Trend Tracker, weekly Technology, Beauty and Sustainability Edits and exclusive event invitations, sign up for Membership here. This summer’s Paris Olympics and Paralympics will mark Raynald Aeschlimann’s fourth games as CEO of Omega, the official timekeeper of the event. He’s excited for it. “A sponsor is someone who puts their name forward to try to raise their profile. A partner like us is someone who is part of the emotion, and an important thing is to see the games inside the city,” he tells Vogue Business. This is a crucial moment for the Swatch-owned brand, the only watchmaker inside the stadium; as the official timekeeper, it will have to deliver 1.3 million pieces of data during the games. Omega will host thousands of guests, notably at its Omega House in Paris, located at the Hôtel de Poulpry, Maison des Polytechniciens, a stone’s throw from the Musée d’Orsay. The space is due to be inaugurated with Omega ambassadors Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber on 27 July, and will feature luxurious décor, outdoor garden terraces, sports shown on big screens and a full schedule of VIP events. “If all goes well, the third time will be a charm for Omega who — through no fault of its own — has had a horror run over the last four years with their two most expensive sponsorships,” says Andrew McUtchen, founder of watch media platform Time+Tide. The last summer Olympics in 2020 were postponed to 2021 and then held without spectators. No Time to Die, the latest installment in the Bond franchise, of which Omega is the long-standing watch partner, was pushed back a record three times before coming out in 2021. “A classic, big time Olympics with all the romance and panache of Paris could not come at a better time for Omega,” McUtchen adds. Omega doesn’t disclose the financials of the partnership, but Aeschlimann says that the International Olympic Committee pays the brand to be the official timekeeper, a role it has held since 1932. The multi-million-euro contract currently runs through 2032. He also shares that the marketing costs for Omega are in the 10s of millions per Olympics. “It would be totally stupid not to be able to talk about it. There’s what we invest in: communication campaigns, hospitality, our marketing strategy around the games. Let’s not forget that this is a two-way contract, and that’s very unique.” The Olympic effect It’s a challenging time for Omega. The third largest Swiss watch brand (after Rolex and Cartier) is not immune to the woes that the rest of the watch industry is facing in China. It generated sales of CHF 2.6 billion in 2023 ($2.9 billion), per Morgan Stanley (Omega accounted for 39 per cent of total group sales in 2023, according to Morgan Stanley). Sales of parent company Swatch Group dropped 10.7 per cent on an organic basis to CHF 3.4 billion ($3.8 billion) in the first half of 2024, including a 30 per cent drop in China, with Omega being among the hardest hit brands in its portfolio. “Swatch Group is most exposed to Chinese middle-class consumers, who are clearly on the back foot. Swatch is also exposed — we think — to the impact of higher product availability at Rolex, which may be impacting sales of Omega,” wrote Bernstein managing director of luxury goods Luca Solca. Aeschlimann says that the dried-up demand for watches in China is “cyclical not structural”. “I can’t tell you when the cycle will pick up, I think it’s a matter of months,” he says. Meanwhile, the executive highlights the “outstanding performance” in Japan in recent months. During the company’s earnings call on 15 July, Swatch Group stressed the “big opportunity” for Omega around the Olympics. The company expects the games to benefit Omega sales notably in the US and China. The Olympics partnership is about brand image, Aeschlimann adds. “There’s an inspirational component when it comes to purchasing a watch. Our average price is €7,000, so we are not going to do an Olympics special, but there’s great value in terms of image, precision, technology and athletes’ trust,” he says. “We sometimes have customers who arrive two or three years later and say, ‘It’s true, your values, your DNA; it’s the Olympics,’” he explains. Another area of success for Omega is its 2022 collaboration with Swatch. The Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch, priced at €275, offers an affordable take on the Omega Speedmaster Professional. “The launch of the collaboration with sister brand Swatch boosted performance of both brands: on the top line and margin for Swatch, and for brand awareness with younger demographics for Omega,” Morgan Stanley noted in its Swiss watch report, published February 2024. While the MoonSwatch has had a positive impact on profit and loss (P&L) at Swatch, Omega has benefitted in terms of brand awareness, with a ripple effect on sales of its Speedmaster model. “We proudly presented it on the first day in every major boutique in the world, but we never sold one,” says Aeschlimann, noting that it nonetheless boosted the brand. “Since the launch, in some countries, sales of the Omega Speedmaster doubled. We’ve seen that a certain generation of young and not-so-young people rediscovered the Speedmaster, bringing a huge amount of traffic into our stores to discover the original,” he explains. Then, there’s the Bond tie-up. Daniel Craig retired after the latest instalment, sending speculations swirling around who the next James Bond will be. As the official watch partner of James Bond since 1995, how will Omega accompany the post-Craig era? “No Time to Die was extraordinary for Omega — and for James Bond — and the last edition we did for No Time to Die is still in our top five bestsellers today. I trust the producers that the next James Bond will be the character who takes James Bond into a new era, which will be, I’m sure, with Omega; and I’m sure, also very positive,” Aeschlimann says. (The brand does not reveal the duration of the contract.) Omega has released three Olympic-dedicated designs: the Seamaster Diver 300M Paris 2024, released one year before the games; the Speedmaster Chronoscope, unveiled 100 days before the games; and another model, which will be revealed on Wednesday. Will the investment and releases be enough to get Omega back in Olympic shape? “This is an open debate. Swatch Group, as it often happens, is leaning on the positive,” Solca says. Being the official timekeeper involves developing new technology. “In Paris, there will be many new sports of which, at the time we signed the contract, we had no knowledge, and for which we had to develop new technologies to be able to fulfill our mission 100 per cent,” Aeschlimann says. “We have technologic evolutions coming up with artificial intelligence, we have some extraordinary things,” Aeschlimann continues. “But what’s important is to focus on these games. That’s where quality comes in. It’s that confidence that’s much more fundamental than simply brand image.” Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com. More from this author: Maison Margiela to skip Paris Fashion Week Why Cartier brought its Trinity celebrations to Singapore The Olympics ceremonies will give a nice play to fashion

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