Inopressa.ru
Goodbye wristwatches: teenagers and older young people no longer know how to tell the time from a watch face if it is not digital. Rolex, Swatch, Seiko and Timex have replaced iPods or mobile phones. And today the Wall Street Journal has hammered the last nail into the coffin of this accessory, which a century ago retired the "bulbs", the pocket watch of great-grandfathers. And as a sign that time is turning back, for many young people, the time-indicating device has returned to their pockets, just as they did in the 19th century.
The change has affected sales of traditional watches, with sales of models between $ 30 and $ 150, popular with teens and young adults, declining by 10% since 2004, according to Deborah Rudinski of the Doneger Group, a fashion consultancy. Fossil, the brand that enjoyed success in the youth fashion market, saw sales plummet 13% at the end of the third quarter, the fifth consecutive decline.
Swatch is also experiencing a crisis, with sales down 12% from January to October 2005 compared to the previous year. Staying on top is about improving products: New strategies in this youth sector of the industry include the manufacture of watches with headphones that pour digital music. Such copies were presented at the last Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Traditional watches also change their appearance. Timex, following the desire of young people for the versatility of objects, began to produce watches with a built-in compass and thermometer and a fourth hand, which, in addition to the weather, indicates the temperature of water or air.
Guess also presented its novelty, starting the production of a model especially for girls: a bracelet with pendants, one of which is a watch. Young people can find out the time not only by their mobile phones, wrist watches or iPods: 90% of teenagers use a computer, where the clock is always available at the bottom of the monitor screen.