Tudor the latest brand to discredit Morgan Stanley Swiss Watcher report
Following the extraordinary rebuke of Morgan Stanley’s recently published Swiss Watcher report in an open letter by Swatch Group, Tudor has become the latest brand to question the report’s methodology and conclusions.
The Ninth Annual Swiss Watcher was put together in conjunction with Swiss consultant Oliver Müller of LuxeConsult, and the accuracy of its figures is coming under increasing scrutiny.
Responding to an approach for comment from Swiss newspaper Le Temps, Tudor said: “The gap between the assumptions of the Morgan Stanley study on the watch industry and the reality of Tudor’s business performance is so significant, year after year, that we question the relevance of the methodology and the credibility of the report’s authors.
“Another example of confusion, this time concerning publicly known facts, is the share of wholesale business attributed to the brand. This is regularly positioned around 70% in Morgan Stanley studies, whereas Tudor’s business model has focused exclusively on a wholesale approach since its creation a century ago,” the statement concluded.
Where this leaves the credibility of the annual report is not clear. On the one hand, it’s generated a lot of interest and got people talking like very few other reports can. Plus, Morgan Stanley has the reasonable defence of saying: “Okay, if you think the figures are wrong, then publish your full financial results to avoid any confusion.”
On the other hand, as Swatch Group itself pointed out, such reports, which join dots and fill in the gaps left by the brands, can be over-interpreted as gospel fact by watch lovers and the media, which can have a detrimental effect on a company’s stakeholders.
“The research includes statements about sales development and profits of our companies that could seriously undermine customer and retailer trust,” Swatch Group said in its open letter, saying that it wouldn’t rule out legal action.
Against this backdrop, it feels inevitable that both Morgan Stanley/LuxeConsult and individual brands that take umbrage to the Swiss Watcher report, will feel pressure to be more transparent.
