Challenges and Marketing Activities of Longines Luxury Watchmaker

MARKETING
MANAGEMENT

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Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1
Two key challenges in managing Longines marketing operations............................................1
Current marketing activities undertaken by Longines...............................................................3
Two key trends in marketing management................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................6

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INTRODUCTION
Luxury products business is facing a very different kind of challenges. There are several
initiatives taken by these luxury brand makers so as to confront these challenges. There are
many challenges being faced by the company as the environment for business has changed
considerably. The competition has become huge in almost all the markets of the world
(Donzé, 2017). In such an environment, it is essential for the company to analyse its
marketing activities that is undertaken by the firm. It is also necessary to evaluate the extent
to which these activities help in achieving these objectives of the firm. The major key trends
in marketing needs to be analysed by any company. Compagnie Des Montres Longines
Francillon S.A. also known as Longines is a luxury watchmaker from Switzerland. It was
established in 1832 by Auguste Agassiz. Since 1983, this company operates as a subsidiary of
the Swiss Swatch Group.
This report explains the two major challenges faced by Longines. It also provides the analysis
of current marketing activities of the cited firm. At last, the two major key trends in the
marketing management have been elaborated.
Two key challenges in managing Longines marketing operations
For any company marketing is one of the biggest factors for achieving success. Every
company faces different kinds of challenges and so is the case with Longines. It is essential
that company evaluates the challenges they are facing in the market. Two major challenges
faced by the company are:
Competition
Luxury watch industry has become very much bigger. It is found that many luxury watch
makers have come up in this industry. This has raised the competition to much higher levels.
In such an environment, it is essential for the firms to make strategies that give them
competitive advantage over the rivals. Swiss watches have always been known for its luxury
image and hence they have large brand image in the market (Donzé, 2011). Each company
has their own set of qualities that is attracting the customers hence they have a huge fan base.
It is all about the quality and brand image of the watches that makes them improve their sales.
Longines is one of the oldest branded watch makers and have been one of those companies
which are using its trademark as same. Its trademark is famous and company heavily relies on
its brand name for its marketing. With so many similar products in the market proving almost

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similar values to the customers, it has become difficult for the companies like Longiness to
create any edge over the others. In the era of digital and smart watches, managing the
marketing that results in higher sales is difficult. Many big companies with huge capitals
have come up in the industry. In this regards, the major role is played by innovation as
companies are innovating their products on the basis customer requirements. Companies like
Apple have made their mark in the luxury brand market as the watches are smart which
provides various details about person’s health. Apple has big brand name also the watches
gets connected with the phones hence can be used for multiple purposes. This has raised the
concerns of the marketers of Longines. It is not only the luxury brand image that company
looks for but it’s the technology that is also driving the customers to make purchases. This is
not the generation of people where they die for classic things rather it is a generation of
technology freaks.
Apart from this, the cell phone technology is replacing watches as all the people carry their
cell phones where they see the time. Since the profit margins in such type of watches are
extremely high hence many companies are coming up in the luxury brand segment (Anwar,
2012). Most of the companies are using fierce marketing campaign and the scope of doing
something different is very much hard. With huge amount of piracy in the market, the
benefits of the marketing are hard to achieve. Some brand has become so big in the luxury
brand image that it surpasses all its competitors like Rolex and Rado. Creating much larger
brand image can be a serious challenge for marketers of Longines.
Economic
The economic environment in the world is not so good. The situation is heavily poor in the
European region where there is huge slowdown in the economic environment. In many
countries, the per capita income has come down. After the recession of 2008-09, the
conditions actually never become stable. The bankruptcy of Greece and the political
decisions such as Brexit has further reduced the purchasing power of people in Europe
(Donzé, 2014). This is because people do not want to spend a lot of money on the luxury
products specially watches whose substitutes are available. For the luxury brand industry,
having a good economic environment is extremely essential. This is because the good
economic environment in any market is essential for achieving the desired goals of the
company. At the same time, healthy economic environment always allows a company to