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Swatch Group
Financial
Swiss Watch Exports Drop 35% in June Despite China Bump
The monthly statistics show signs of a recovery, noted Bernstein analysts.
Business Features
A Most Violent Half: China Is Back, But Luxury’s Outlook Remains Grim
The double-digit sales declines reported this week were shocking, and unlike anything the industry has ever witnessed. Although COVID-19 is abating, and trends are improving, true recovery won’t come until people can travel internationally once again.
Financial
Swatch Cuts Staff, Stores as H1 Earnings Drop
With new product launch activities resuming in the second half, group expects positive operating result for the year.
Human Resources
Swatch Group Reshuffles Top Management, Promotes Internally
The Swiss watchmaker named new bosses for Longines, Rado, Union, Tissot, Certina and Hamilton.
Financial
Swatch Group Plans Dividend Cut as Coronavirus Bites
The world’s biggest watchmaker will ask shareholders to approve a 30 percent cut in its planned dividend.
Watches
Geneva Watch Days Event Moved to August
Labels taking part in the Aug. 26 to 29 event include Bulgari, Breitling, Ulysse Nardin and Girard-Perregaux.
Watches
Swatch Lowers Production, Sees Slow Return of Chinese Consumption
The group expects consumption to normalize in China in around a month.
Watches
Swatch Group Cancels Swiss Watch Event Due to Coronavirus
The world’s biggest watchmaker plans to show its high-end labels at regional events at a later time.
Financial
Swatch Group Sales, Profits Hit by Hong Kong Protests
Net profits fell 13.7 percent in 2019, but the company expects healthy growth in 2020 in all markets, except Hong Kong.
Eyewear
CEO Talks: Marcolin’s Massimo Renon on Brand Diversification, Industry’s Changing Scenario
A licensing agreement with BMW Group is the latest addition to the Italian eyewear company’s portfolio.
Financial
Swatch Group to Let Calvin Klein Licensing Deal Expire
The Swiss watchmaker cited “recent turbulence” in the management of the brand.
Eyewear
Marcolin to Develop Omega and Longines Eyewear Collections
Both the collections, including sunglasses and optical frames, will hit stores in November.
Financial
Swatch Group H1 Net Profit Falls 11.3% Amid Crackdown on Gray Market
Revenues were down 4.4 percent as political unrest impacted sales in Hong Kong, the world’s number-one market for Swiss watches.
Watches
Longines Hones Market-by-Market Approach After Exiting Baselworld
The watch label has held two product events with U.S. retailers since the start of the year.
People
Simon Baker on Surfing, Riding Horses and Incarnating Elegance
The Australian actor was in Chantilly for the Longines-sponsored Prix de Diane horse race.
![Sacai’s Chitose Abe collaborated with Brooklyn-based artist Hank Willis Thomas on “Love Over Rules” inspired collections.
Thomas created a bold, uppercase graphic of the “Love Over Rules” inscription. The phrase lent thoughtful, graphic impact to the collections and provided the moving ending to Sacai’s seasonal brand film, directed by Shoji Uchida, that sets out to replicate the backstage activity before a fashion show.
“Basically, the collection is to honor and respect all people, and also to agree — Love Over Rules, no matter what their race, culture or sexuality,” Abe said in a video appointment during which she showed the two collections from her Tokyo atelier.
Not even in her most introspective moments, did Abe ever question the importance of fashion at a moment of such intense cultural turmoil. “It’s sort of beyond the question of whether fashion is important or not,” she noted. “What I [think about] is how to make the wearer feel good about themselves and how to give that person confidence by wearing the clothes. So it’s not just about whether fashion is important, but how it’s going to make that person feel. It’s about self-expression.”
Tap the link in bio for the full interview.
Report: Bridget Foley
📸: Yukie Miyazaki](https://scontent-dfw5-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/s640x640/117247942_296985711608898_3217114544557586604_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=106&_nc_ohc=OqbNcNOJ0gEAX9N0Cjb&oh=6cc320c60e35701dce83a5945b935abb&oe=5F5E6F89)
![YouTuber @neonmuahas, aka Darius McKiver, has partnered with @midascosmetics_ on inclusive face palettes.
The collection marks McKiver's second product collaboration and first in the complexion category. It was inspired by a video fellow beauty YouTuber @nymatang created calling attention to a lack of bronzing options for deep complexions, McKiver said.
"[Tang] showed how she had to use an eyeshadow from a Morphe palette as contour and bronzer," McKiver said. "I don’t understand why, with the recent boom of complexion and foundation ranges, we’re still missing something as important as bronzers and contours."
Tap the link in bio for more.
Report: @hernameislex](https://scontent-dfw5-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/s640x640/117256204_299237724680556_5374844507470415486_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=100&_nc_ohc=SXFRpScXal8AX9tFx16&oh=f225416d21c14793eae46244b576334f&oe=5F5EA57C)
![@JackieAina has launched her own company, and no, it's not beauty — yet.
@ForvrMood is a lifestyle company that launched online on Aug. 10 with a four-piece collection of coconut wax candles that are free of sulfates and parabens. The initial product offering includes a silk pillowcase and matching headband, with prices ranging from $28 to $49.
Prior to launch, Forvr Mood accumulated a waitlist of more than 45,000 people. It sold out of pre-sale inventory within minutes — despite not revealing details of the brand or the product lineup before launch.
Forvr Mood, whose name is meant to reflect "a vibe and aesthetic without really saying that," is a venture self-funded by Aina that has been in the works since 2018, she said. She plans to expand the company into categories such as fragrance and skincare. Her future makeup line, however, is a separate venture.
"The reason why we decided to [launch with a lifestyle company] is because makeup requires a lot more testing and more standardizing," Aina said. "There are some products that I’ve been developing for my — hint, hint — future makeup line for almost two years."
Tap the link in bio for more.
Report: @hernameislex
📸: @forvrmood](https://scontent-dfw5-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/s640x640/117169814_222603885748036_6636572076137064969_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=104&_nc_ohc=BmuR4NKh2o4AX9XcdzJ&oh=dcb760b62601c2daf47f38dd14f395b6&oe=5F5CB7B1)
