INSIDER VIEW: The carrot or the stick?

Swatch Group’s CEO Nick Hayek Jr. is no stranger to controversy.

Outspoken, dogmatic, and unashamedly belligerent, Hayek Jr. has a history of making his views very clear in public, from the subject of Russian sanctions to a legal battle with Apple.

What he has most recently taken umbrage to is perfectly understandable, namely President Trump’s imposition of stifling 39% tariffs on Swiss exports to the States.

Nothing particularly controversial about that, in and of itself.

But Hayek Jr. went a step further and has actually manufactured a watch under the Swatch name called “WHAT IF…TARIFFS,” as reported on by Watch Insider earlier this week. The watch represents a flagrant dig at Trump’s decision, from the name itself to the fact that the 3 and 9 numerals on the dial are swapped, reading 39 (as a not-so-subtle reference to the 39% tariff).

In some ways, this is very much playing Trump at his own game. Traditional diplomacy has never been the President’s forte, so for Swatch to reply in kind with a metaphorical middle finger at his decision is largely fair game.

Rolex’s CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour has taken the “carrot” approach instead, hoping to build bridges with the U.S. administration. His hosting of President at the U.S. Open tennis final earlier this month was from the old school book of diplomacy. We don’t know exactly what was discussed behind closed doors, but there’s more chance of hell freezing over than tariffs not having been brought up at some point.

So, which style is more likely to have worked: Hayek Jr.’s stick or Dufour’s carrot? Or will neither have the desired effect?

We’ll know a lot more in the coming weeks and months, but my bet would be on Rolex’s nicey-nicey approach, given the President’s reputation for having an inflated ego.

Despite wildly different tactics, what unites Dufour, Hayek Jr., and the whole Swiss watch industry is a desire to be rid of the short-termist, punitive tariffs as quickly as possible.