Watches: Time for some action – SS16 Trend Report

Rip Curl

Are ‘smart’ watches taking over the boardsport watches business – or is there still room for action-specific performance? SOURCE’s Dirk Vogel has the newest trends that boardsport retailers need to watch.

When the Apple Watch launched amid much fanfare in April of this year, the watches industry seemed like the next market laid to waste by digital disruption. Silicon Valley had done it again. Why would consumers still want anything besides a shiny new ‘smart’ watch with hundreds of apps, notifications, and messages right at their fingertips? And from an industry perspective, why should time-honoured watches brands even bother making ‘regular’ timepieces with style and precision?

Turns out, not everybody wants to stare at their watch instead of their phone; at least not just yet. Interest in the Apple Watch already took a harsh dip – sales declined 90% within three months by July (CNN) – and action-oriented watch companies still have faith in well-made, functional timepieces. “Some interesting research we undertook amongst over 7,000 industry people and outdoor enthusiasts revealed that over 50% aren’t interested in another frequently rechargeable, wearable device such as the smart watch,” said Ian Elliot, Co-Founder of UK-based brand Elliot Brown Watches. At Electric, Caroline Piechaud clearly states: “We don’t consider ‘smart’ watches as competition.”

Also keep in mind that boardsports consumers have their own specific needs when it comes to performance features. “I’m sure that this device is amazing for other uses but not for surfing – as it isn’t waterproof,” notes Borja Torres at Rip Curl Europe. Similar performance requirements are shared across all boardsports, says Christian Dittrich, Junior Key Account Manager for G-Shock watches at Casio: “Never mind if you are a skateboarder, surfer, or snowboarder – all athletes have the same expectations. Watches should be water resistant, shock resistant, and comfortable to wear. No problem for our G-Shock watches.”

Electric

PRICE POINTS: SWEET SPOTS AND PREMIUM POSITIONING

Over the years, boardsports watches have come a long way in offering quality and reliable performance. And that’s a good thing, because customer expectations are high in the watches segment; as opposed to, let’s say, sunglasses where brands can still get by with sugar-coating cheap, interchangeable product in saccharine marketing messages. Most boardsports watches these days are Swiss-made and offer 5-year warrantees at return rates under 1%, as well as numerous technical features that justify three-digit price points. “For basic watches selling in boardsport retail, it’s hard to go above $100 without any technological features,” said Kirsten Taylor, International Marketing Manager at Neff.

Most of the retail action gravitates around what is indeed a ‘sweet’ spot in terms of margins and volumes, while brands report a surprisingly elevated benchmark for exclusive, high-value product. “$150 to $250 is a sweet spot and $500 to $750 is the ceiling right now,” said Joe Babcock, Nixon Category Manager for Technical Products. The latter may seem high, but Christian at G-Shock confirms: “The main price points in the lower/mid price segment are from €89,90 to €149. Professional athletes and G-Shock collectors don’t mind paying €500 and more for a watch that meets their expectations and provides the requested functions.”

Elliot brown

 
FUNCTIONALITY: ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE

Even without juggling dozens of apps on ‘smart’ interfaces, boardsport watches are far from ‘dumb’, and endemic brands are already serving this segment with surf-specific functionality. “Smart and Connected watches are the biggest trend we expected to see in 2015. We saw this coming as far back as 2010, and began working on ideas and development as to how we would enter this category. In 2015 we launched the Ultratide, the world’s first real-time surf conditions watch, and that was our first watch in the Smart and Connected category,” said Joe at Nixon. California-based Electric is focused on offering, “style and performance for every situation, which means featuring extremely robust functions such as clear time and date, water rating, tide and chronograph,” said PR manager Caroline Piechaud.

Enhancing the surf experience by putting real-time tide information on surfers’ wrists is also the motive behind Rip Curl’s Search GPS watch. “Even if it’s been in the market for longer than a year we keep pushing it, as it’s the only watch in the market that tracks your surf during the session,” said Borja Torres. The Search GPS watch and app lets users track wave count, top speed, length of ride and session time. “We consider this model as an electronic device, not just a watch.” Even out of the water, boardsports watches are packing high tech. “G-Shock offers tidegraph (surfers), barometer (snowboarders), and there is demand Bluetooth watches with special functions like music control and incoming call and SMS alert,” said Christian Dittrich at G-Shock.

Nixon

MATERIALS: RUGGED AND SLEEK

Materials for watch casings fall into two camps – plastic and metal. For flashy, upscale watch models, titanium and stainless steel reign supreme, while silicone and resin offer rugged casings for performance watches. The latter includes G-Shock: “We continue our success story with resin cases and resin wristbands. But you will also find stainless steel G-Shocks in our premium segment.” Stainless steel and titanium casings are key in almost all line-ups, including Nixon, Electric, Elliot Brown, and Rip Curl. Meanwhile, the ‘plastics’ segment is trending towards fun, ‘80s-style digital displays, including Neff’s Odyssey Watch with double-injected ABS/silicone case and silicone strap. Electric has a pretty-looking digital model called the Prime adhering to the ethos: “Look to the past to see the future. With a nod to the ‘80s in its geometric sleekness, and constructed from new high tech materials, the Prime is digitized for the modern era,” says Caroline at Electric California.

Speaking of straps, there’s a trend towards bespoke, fine leathers. “We’ve searched out new strapping materials and produced short hand-made runs of what we call ‘pull-up’ leathers that start out matt with a slight nap. They wear smooth over time and age beautifully like a leather belt,” said Ian Elliot at Elliot Brown Watches. Joe at Nixon confirmed this trend: “For our leather editions of the Ranger, we use high quality full grain leathers and in some cases it’s USA made Horween leather.” For performance in an upscale package, Electric’s Carroway Automatic model is, “offered in a custom Italian tanned leather band with custom stainless steel closure, or polyester nato style strap with custom hardware.”

COLOURS: FLAIR VS. UNDERSTATEMENT

Rip Curl

Colourways are divided between upscale, polished watches that blend leather straps and metal casings, and plastic watches with interesting colourways. As Christian at G-Shock puts it: “The current big trends are decent watches with detailed accents, as well as coloured watches with stylish patterns like camouflage, polarized marble or flower patterns. But we also will put the focus on the top colour – black! Therefore we created a series named ‘Mission Black.’” Black on black models are available from all brands, including Electric’s sleek Carroway Automatic watch.

LIFESTYLE: DIFFERENT SCENARIOS

Today’s customers treat watches as an accessory and choose different watches for different situations. “Our research tells us there’s a split between those who love wrist tech and those who simply want a robust reliable time piece. They’re quite different things as one is more like an appliance and the other is something that has a propensity to develop a much stronger emotional bond due to a difference in perceived build quality and longevity,” said Ian Elliot at Elliot Brown Watches, adding: “Testing every watch in 200m of water helps, too!” 

When it comes to playing the fashion card, the most interesting offerings come from brands that target this category as part of their brand identity: “Neff Time is considered eye candy for your wrist. Our watches are a fashion accessory. We see opportunity in adding colour, cool details and different materials,” said Kirsten Taylor at Neff, pointing out the Esteban PU with a stainless steel case and woven NATO strap. And for a watch that does it all, Joe at Nixon suggests: “Nixon’s Ranger franchise is a key story for us in 2015/2016. It’s a field watch that is both rugged and easy to dress up and down and comes in different case sizes, materializations, chrono- and non-chrono options.”

OUTLOOK

Plastic VS. metal, style VS. tech, lifestyle VS. performance – now you know what time it is in boardsports watches retail. And while ‘smart’ watches are still a minor phenomenon, their day is sure to come. “Casio has been developing a wrist device that the company aims to announce at the International CES 2016. The company intends to introduce the wrist device that shows Casio’s strong suit, thus differentiating it from other smart watches,” said Christian Dittrich, while other brands confirmed similar efforts. Until then, enjoy the times when surfing allows you to literally catch a ‘break’ from emails, notifications, and status updates, even if it is just for a few minutes.

Electric

HIGHLIGHTS

No market disruption from ‘smart’ watches (Apple Watch)… yet.

Surf-tech watches record tides, predict waves, log top speeds, and pair via Bluetooth.

High-end leather straps, titanium casing.

Black remains #1 colour.

Low-fi digital displays booming like it’s 1985.

Separate watches for different lifestyle scenarios (e.g. sports VS. chill).

Elliot Brown