Brand perception ‘key to watch brands’

As daily necessities, clocks and watches are more than time-telling tools. They also represent the trends of precision manufacturing, intelligent manufacturing, craftsmanship, fashion and technology.

Shenzhen is the birthplace of a batch of renowned Chinese watch brands. In the past three decades, the city has not only witnessed the watch industry thrive and prosper, but also how Shenzhen’s watch brands have emerged on the world stage.

Zhu Shunhua, president of Shenzhen Watch & Clock Association, shared his views on the development of Shenzhen’s watch industry and brands with the Shenzhen Daily.

According to Zhu, the watch industry in Shenzhen has gone through a process from being an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to owning independent design and cultivating self-owned brands.

Currently, there are about 900 watch and clock enterprises in Shenzhen, whose output value and export volume account for more than 50 percent of the national market share. Meanwhile, about 90 percent of the world’s smart watches are produced in Shenzhen.

“Shenzhen has more than 170 independent watch brands, and has cultivated a batch of famous brands, such as Fiyta, Ebohr, Tian Wang, Rarone and Geya,” said Zhu.

He believes that a good brand should not only have a culture and historical heritage, but also excellent product quality, creative design and the spirit of striving for craftsmanship.

“In terms of the internationalization of Shenzhen’s brands, if you just talk about fashion, you will always lag behind. So now we are promoting the integration of fashion and technology, which are both characteristics of Shenzhen. I think the integration of function and design could be the direction for our future development,” he said.

He added that Shenzhen has an advantage in technological innovation, so the way of making technological products more fashionable and fashionable products more intelligent is a question that enterprises should ponder.

The clock and watch industry, as a fashion industry in Shenzhen, has gained active support from the city government. In particular, seven Shenzhen enterprises were among the top 10 national watch and clock enterprises unveiled in June, said Zhu.

According to him, a brand must also have a good reputation in order to gain a foothold in the market. “If you can earn a reputation, it means the market has accepted you as a player because of your brand perception and value, and then the consumer is willing to use it and influence other consumers,” he said.