Swatch is planning to take on major technology companies in the wearable technology market
Swatch is planning to launch a smartwatch next summer in a bid to grab
a slice of the wearable technology market, expected to be worth $30 billion
($18bn) by 2018.
The Swatch Touch will feature a pedometer and other health trackers,
and could integrate with devices from technology companies via Bluetooth, the
company's chief executive Nick Hayek told Reuters.
However, Swatch is not relying on these integrations and is happy to go
it alone, claiming that Swatch's business is selling watches not technology.
"All the big technology firms want to work with us and I don't
rule out that we are or could be collaborating in some areas. But we can also
do many things on our own," said Hayek.
"It is a problem if you only define a product by its technology.
Technology alone doesn't sell, not in watches."
The importance of fashion has been emphasised again and again in
relation to wearable technology.
Many of the smartwatches released to date by the likes of Samsung, Sony
and LG are bulky and futuristic in appearance, making them less than appealing
to fashion-conscious consumers.
For some analysts, Swatch and Apple would be the dream team for a
smartwatch project, but Swatch has always played down its interest in such a
relationship.
The company already offers the Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar, which is
not a smartwatch in the web-connected sense of the word, but features a
touchscreen that allows users to control basic functions and doubles as a
charging panel.
Apple, meanwhile, hired the sales director of luxury Swiss watch maker
TAG Heuer in July, to help promote its forthcoming iWatch, which is expected to
launch next week.
Burberry ex-chief executive Angela
Ahrendts and former head of French fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent Paul Deneve
have also joined the company over the last year.
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