Is this a real problem? I can go online right now and buy 10 ETA 2892-A2 movements for $176 each. I can safely assume a watch manufacturer buys them in bulk for much cheaper than that. Yet, the watch I purchased a couple of weeks ago, which contains an ETA 2892-A2, has a retail price of $10,600.
So even if the manufacturer used to pay $176 for the movement, and it is going to cost them double to make their own, will the world be truely different if the retail price of the watch rises to $10,776?

Thanks for your comment ! The fact that blanks (not movements) are sold by different vendors doesn’t mean that one of them benefits from a monopoly situation.

In this case, we have about half a dozen of important players, not more IMHO, but one clearly stepping above the others – see market shares – of course ETA.

And here we don’t have a specific opinion on Mr Hayek’s decision – especially on the moral point of view, this is not our role. The ComCo decided to have them keep on selling their blanks, for the reason we mentionned here, and we just sticked to the facts.

Considering the fact that this withdrawal could jeopardize the economic balance of the industry, again, this is an economic fact & analysis – moreover from ComCo. This is not our personal opinion. Personaly speaking, I think this judgement by ComCo makes sense. Saying it is a bad or a good thing is another debate.

In this case, I do agree with you – pesronally speaking again. That’s nothing less than a capitalism effect, the beginning of a new era where some new competitors might enter the game, even if one seems to be in a better position than the others. I think that’s healthy.

Glad to have this discussion with you !

Oh, by the way, I do my best to answer your comments in english, but that’s not my mother tongue, so pls forgive me I don’t make myself clear here above in this comment ! But there’s one thing for sure : I didn’t get the phrase “rant over” ! Never saw it before… . What does it mean ?

Thanks !

Olivier

I don’t know that this is true. Aren’t movts. available from Selitta, Miyota, and several other sources?

The Swatch decision to sell only internally may turn out to be a brilliant business decision, or ultimately a horrid one that bankrupts the company, or something in between. But I think the larger point is that, imho, no one should have any say in the decision other than the owners of Swatch, that is the the stockholders, acting through their agent, the company’s board. I find any other act to be morally reprehensible.

>> “such a withdrawal could jeopardize the economic balance of the industry.”
I don’t know that this is /necessarily/ true, it’s possible the it could have the opposite effect. But for ComCo to claim that is nothing short of hubris.

And “jeopardizing the economic balance of an industry” is not /necessarily/ bad at all. The once nascent auto industry jeopardized the the horse carriage industry. But I think we are better off for it as consumers. There are thousands more examples.

Rant over.