Times are tough for local manufacturers
Hong Kong companies are facing tough times because of a belief among local consumers that foreign brands are better.
Hong Kong is the second largest exporter of watches after Switzerland, but only a handful of local brands, such as o.d.m and Focus, are getting noticed.
Jacky Lau, chairman of watch manufacturing company Salinger, said local consumers preferred to buy big Swiss brand names, instead of local watches.
'If someone pays more than HK$1,000 for a watch, other people will recognise the name and give the watch value,' he said. 'It's difficult for the Hong Kong [watch] industry to create a name for itself in the mid- or high-price range.'
According to Mr Lau, Hongkongers are willing to spend HK$300 on locally made watches, while higher ticketed timepieces are reserved for more recognisable licenses or big brand names.
Mr Lau said the Hong Kong industry followed a growing trend to sell watches under a licensed brand such as Mickey Mouse, DKNY and Armani Exchange.
With an annual turnover of US$7.5million and more than 300 employees in Hong Kong and the mainland, Salinger, founded in 1988, produces its own house brand, Arbutus.
The collection specialises in mechanical movements, rather than liquid-crystal displays or cross analogue watches.
While many consumers view foreign brands as being better, Mr Lau said a number of Hong Kong companies manufactured components, such as watchcases and bands, which are later used in the manufacture of Swiss watches.
A new watchmaker on the block is Trixie Watch & Jewellery, which opened in 2004, selling fashionable ladies watches and jewellery. Director Sandy Tse said: 'It's difficult to promote or distribute watches in Hong Kong. We have to design and develop something that is different or new [in order to] compete with Swiss or Italian watches.'
To increase Trixie's competitive edge and standout from other watches, the Infinite Trixie collection features a five-layer interchangeable crown with different colours and materials including rubber, leather and steel.
Ms Tse believes many local consumers buy Trixie watches for their fashionable look and style, not necessarily due to the Trixie name.
Another unique feature of Trixie watches is their hollow steel bracelets.
Unlike a solid piece of steel, these chunky bangle-type bracelets are lightweight and come in steel, gold and black colours.
Ms Tse believes the key to improving Hong Kong's watch industry is to promote non-classical designs and good quality, otherwise consumers will buy watches by Citizen or cK Calvin Klein.
Elise Tsui, director of Alfred International, said Hong Kong's watch companies lacked funding for marketing. With big name watch companies spending millions on advertising and promotions around the city, local consumers have greater awareness of imported brand names or licensed watches, and not local brands.
With an annual production of two million pieces, Alfred International has chosen to create licensed watches for the NBA (National Basketball Association) instead of inventing a watch brand from scratch.
According to Ms Tsui, another problem facing Hong Kong is the lower cost of manufacturing in the mainland.
'Hong Kong has a long [watch] history in manufacturing, management, design and quality, but China is cheaper,' she said.
