This year’s Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair and Salon de TIME, which both wrapped in early September, attracted some 17,000 buyers, including a notable international presence from Mainland China, India, Southeast Asia and Taiwan, as well as 700 exhibitors.
Salon de TIME, which specialises in luxury watches, was also fully open to the public for the first time, widening business opportunities for companies.
“Exhibitors were able to learn about customer preference immediately, which will help strengthen product design and research and development, enhancing competitiveness in the future,” said Sophia Chong, Deputy Executive Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).
An on-site survey among some 900 exhibitors and buyers pointed to promising growth prospects over the next two years in Australia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan among traditional markets. ASEAN, India and the Middle East stood out for their growth potential among emerging markets.
A Green Solutions Suppliers label also made its debut this year, reflecting increased global interest in green products.
These new labels were used by 30 exhibitors at this year’s fairs, including Gordon C & Co Ltd from Hong Kong.
Buyers from the Middle East and Southeast Asia showed a lot of interest in Gordon C’s eco-friendly watches, said the company’s Vice President Amy Chow.
“We expect that new orders at this year’s exhibition will increase by 10-20% compared to last year,” she said. “About 10-15% of new orders will be for environmentally-friendly watches.”
Irish jewellery and watch company Armoura Designs was also interested in green products.
“This is my first time vising the Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair in person,” said the company’s Managing Director Stuart McGrath.
“I found five watch suppliers for OEM projects and have also procured a green packaging solution from an exhibitor,” he added.
Mohammad Sajjad, Assistant Vice President of Ethos Limited, a retail chain for upmarket watches in India, placed orders with three Hong Kong exhibitors after visiting the fairs to source new brands.
“I have ordered sapphire watches and watch cases, stainless steel watch and automatic health indicator watches,” he said. “The order amount was around US$1.2 million.”
HKTDC co-organised the Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair and Salon de TIME in collaboration with the Hong Kong Watch Manufacturers Association Ltd and The Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades & Industries Ltd.
The three organisations also facilitated the Hong Kong Watch & Clock Design Competition, with winning and finalist entries on display at the fairground.
Now in its 41st year, the competition encourages local creativity and identifies emerging industry talent.
The two timepiece events mark the start of the autumn season for fairs and exhibitions in Hong Kong.
The autumn edition of the Hong Kong Electronics Fair and concurrent electronicAsia will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 13-16 October.
These will be followed by the autumn edition of the Hong Kong International Lighting Fair at the same venue on 27-30 October.
The International Outdoor and Tech Light Expo will be held at AsiaWorld-Expo from 29 October to 1 November.
