The 26th Annual China Watch & Clock Fair/CWCF Shenzhen, June 25-28/2015

8/19/2015

It was my very good fortune to be able to attend the 26th Annual China Watch and Clock Fair in Shenzhen, China, between June 26th and June 28th this year.

As with last year, I was honoured to be guided by my horological mentor in China, and now my good friend, Mr. Li Wei, the Group Leader of the Domestic Horologe Department of the China Horologe Association .

Mr. Li's fond nickname in China horological circles is "The Teacher" and he is widely recognized as a leading researcher and comprehensive authority on the Chinese watch and clock industry. I'll note here that his assistance to the AMCHPR over the past few years has been immense.

From: http://www.baselworld.com/de-CH/CatalogueAndBooks/ECatalogue.aspx?me=125247:

"The Shenzhen Watch & Clock Association is the legal agent of BASELWORLD and Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair in China Mainland. We are organizer of China Watch & Clock Fair which is the third largest international trade fair for the industry in the world. We assist overseas watch brands to develop Chinese market and do the media promotion with the support of MOMENT magazine and Moment Media. We offer watch & clock quality test and training as well."

The largest clock and watch fair in China, the China Watch and Clock Fair is the 3rd largest watch show in the world after Basel and Hong Kong, and it's the show with the strongest focus on the domestic Chinese horologe industry. It's a 45,000 sq. meter Chinese watch and clock heaven.

This year's attendance was roughly 60,000 visitors (and an additional 50,000 buyers) from around the world. Approximately 400 companies exhibited 600 brands, mostly from China although France, Germany, Russia and Switzerland all had exhibitor companies as well.

Mr. Li Wei (left/stage right) of the China Horologe Association, seen here with Mr. Zhang Zhao Ji, Company President of the Polaris/Beijixing Watch and Clock Factory in Yantai.

The first event of the CWCF 2015 actually took place on the 24th/June: the 13th Annual China Watch & Clock Summit Forum. A select audience of about 100 people heard presentations and discussions that included industry notables like:

Mr. Ren Xingzhou Director, Development Research Center of the State

Ms. Zhou Qunfei, Blue Synopsys Co. founder (in 2015 China's richest woman)
Ms. Wang Minyan, Deputy Director of China's Ministry of Consumers ,

Professor Lang Xianping, noted Economist
Mr. Zhang Xialing, China Watch Association Honorary President
Mr. Du Zijian, a prominent Chinese microblogging marketer, nicknamed: "The Godfather",

:Simultaneous translation was provided and discussion at the forum covered brand building strategies; marketing and economic trends; and with a strong focus on adapting to better take part in the "smart" wearable device market as well as the market for more traditional products.

The next morning, the 25th/June, the CWCF Fair opened the main gates to the expected more than 1000,000 visitors, with the fair housed over two buildings in the huge Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center complex.

The main building primarily housed brands with finished watches and clocks, and the second building focused mostly on support industries: machining, dial, case, movements and parts manufacturers, CNC machine developers, leather and metal bracelet/strap manufacturers, periodicals, tools and the like, although there was some crossover...and enough that both sections were well worth exploring across the board.

The slideshow below contains 65 photos and informative captions covering a broad range of exhibitors at the Shenzhen CWCF 2015, as well as a few casual shots taken with industry notables and friends in Shenzhen.

The next slideshow starts with Shenzhen's beautiful Dameisha Beach Scenic Area where I was fortunate to spend an overnight at the Sheraton Dameisha Resort, then other areas of Shenzhen, both older and newer, and ends with...Chinese domestic watch eye candy.

"Watch Collection"
Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport

When I was leaving Shenzhen for Guilin, I stopped at the "Watch Collection" store at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport. I was greeted by two friendly and knowledgeable store employees, and the single best all-in-one-place store for quality modern Chinese watches I'd seen in China. (Most other stores I'd seen carried only one brand of domestic watch, sometimes alone and sometimes along other Chinese or non-domestic watches.)

Of course, the store carried well-known non-Chinese watches too, but the home selection was prominent, and wide-ranging across top Chinese brands, especiallly Beijing, Sea-Gull and Shanghai.

Everything about the store and the staff conveyed confidence that the domestic product could compete successfully with foreign competition. I really enjoyed seeing that.

If you ever visit that airport, I recommend a visit.