Revenge of TAG Heuer?

[Pawan Fangaria]

Last week, there was a big news. We heard that TAG Heuer, Google and Intel have joined together to develop luxury Smartwatches.
Here is the news on Intel website - TAG Heuer, Google and Intel Announce Swiss Smartwatch Collaboration

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It's also learnt that Apple hired Patrick Pruniaux, VP of sales at TAG Heuer, just before their Smartwatch launch. The news is here.
Take a note here, it's the sales person, Apple is focusing on. Apparently the rumor is that TAG Heuer's joining with Intel and Google is a revenge against their important sales staff being poached.

However, the real story is - smartwatch market is realy heating up. Intel's Curie which is based on Quark is just made for the wearable market. See my blog on Curie which I wrote in the beginning of this year. This union of Intel, Google and TAG Heuer can be a solid strategy for them in the wearable market. TAG Heuer is know for high-end watches and is comfortably able to sell them at high prices. Is that the reason Apple hired TAG Heuer's sales guy?[FONT=&quot]<o></o>[/FONT]

 

[Daniel Payne]

When I worked at Intel they had an orientation class where they talked about their strategy to enter the digital watch business in 1978 by purchasing Microma, one of their early failures at consumer marketing. This recent collaboration could just be deja vu, all over again.

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[Pawan Fangaria]

Thanks Daniel for the info! Let's see this time. It appears to be promising this time with the Curie being around and strong player in watch business like TAG Heuer.

 

[Pawan Fangaria]

Tag Heuer smartwatch powered by Intel processor and Android is ready to be unveiled on November 9. It will be priced at $1800. A report with interview with Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver is HERE.

Not sure with which model of Apple Watch it will compare? Don't think it compares against Apple Watch Edition which goes for $17000

 

[Daniel Payne]

My favorite economist is Thorstein Veblen because of his most famous quote: Conspicuous Consumption. This phrase was first used in his book "The Theory of the Leisure Class" published in 1899, and it perfectly captures the essence of an $1,800.00 watch. Read more about conspicuous consumption theory here.