HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair

	Opening time for trade

Special guests from the industry and government, including guest of honour Miss Yvonne Choi Ying-pik, JP, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Commerce, Industry & Tourism) of the HKSARG, celebrated the opening of the HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair.

(From left to right) Mr Peter Sin, Co-Chairman, Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair Organising Committee 2010, Mr Paul So, President, Hong Kong Watch Manufacturers Association Ltd., Mr Stanley Lau, BBS, MH, JP, Chairman, HKTDC Watches & Clocks Advisory Committee 2010, Guest of Honour Miss Yvonne Choi Ying-pik, JP, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Commerce, Industry & Tourism) of the HKSARG, Mr Fred Lam, Executive Director, HKTDC, Dr Samson Sun, Permanent Honorary President, the Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades & Industries Ltd., Mr Joseph Chu, Co-Chairman of the Fair Organising Committee, and VIP guests, celebrate the opening of the HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair.

After the opening ceremony, guest of honour Miss Yvonne Choi Ying-pik, and other VIPs were taken on a tour of the fairground


CH BADEC Geneve Badec SA Booth: GH-A10	Fila Longitude Limited Booth: GH-G02	Haurex Italy Haurex Italia Srl Booth: GH-B23	Temporis Free Town Watch Products Limited Booth: GH-H02

The fair welcomed the President of the Slovak Republic, H. E. Mr. Ivan Gašparovič, shown here visiting the fair

	Comparing timely trends

At the Hong Kong International Watch Forum, heads of various watch associations from around the world such as the Chinese mainland, France, Japan, Korea and Switzerland, discussed their experiences and shared their views on the latest developments in the international watch market.

	World Brand Piazza

Sponsored by Prince Jewellery & Watch Company, World Brand Piazza features rare and limited-edition timepieces from globally famous names including Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Cartier, Omega, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin.

	Watch parades

The watch parades taken place at wine cellar and hall 1C concourse throughout the show period never fail to attract plenty of attention.

	Buyers' comments

I’ve been coming to this fair for the past 25 years since all my suppliers exhibit here. I import watches and clocks into Belgium, and I am looking to source products across the spectrum, which I can find here. I am also looking to assess trends in the market here. The facilities are fine – I can find what I want easily.
Nassir Bhamani, Sales Director, Cetronic Benelux S.A., Belgium

My company supplies watch parts to one of Switzerland’s major brands, as well as tools to watchmakers. I’ve been visiting this fair for 10 years, because here I can meet with manufacturers of watch parts and tools. The quality of the exhibitors is very good. The company is likely to spend around US$200,000 this year directly as a result of the contacts I make at the fair this week.
Ricardo Bohl, Director, F. Witschi Fils S.A., Switzerland

	Exhibitors' comments

Our company has been in the OEM watch business for around 35 years, but four years ago we launched our own brand, Zerone. We produce innovative, fashionable designs; for example, on display at our booth are watches we created in collaboration with 13 Japanese designers. This is our fourth time at the Brand Name Gallery - the atmosphere of this hall is the best, and as we are striving to build our own brand this is very appropriate for us. We want to launch Zerone globally, so our goal here is to find distributors who are interested in working with us in their own markets.
Jeffrey Chong, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Zerone Limited, Hong Kong

In 2007 Comtech launched its OBAKU brand of watches, which combines Japanese Zen philosophy with Danish design for a look that is clean, simple and harmonious. Our goal at this fair – which Comtech has been attending for over 20 years - is to meet with our existing distributors as well as find new ones. This fair is a good place for sourcing so it has become a gathering place for people in the industry. Before we come to the fair we set up meetings; we are seeing distributors from Australia, India, Korea, Sweden, Taiwan and Ukraine, for example. The international media are well represented here, too – we learned some interesting facts about the watch market in Latin America from Brazilian journalists, for instance. The organisation of the fair is extremely efficient – everything goes very smoothly. We've had good response from buyers already. In the first few hours met with an encouraging number of buyers, including those from Australia, Israel and Turkey - all markets that we are targeting.
Henriette Grasa Arvin, Sales Manager, Comtech Watches Co. Ltd., Hong Kong

Set your clock for the Asian Watch Conference!

One of the fair’s highlights, the Asian Watch Conference, takes place tomorrow afternoon. Ensure you make the time for this informative event!

Keynote speakers:

• Mr Will A. Stein, President, Philip Stein Group
• Ms Ren Xing-zhou, Director, Institute of Market Economy Research, Development Research Center of the State Council, Central Government of the People’s Republic of China

	What’s On - 7 September (Tuesday)

Time	Activities	Venue
11-11:20am	Watch Parade 3	Hall 1C Concourse
2:30-4:35pm	Asian Watch Conference	Meeting Room N101B
4-4:20pm	Watch Parade 4	Wine Cellar, Brand Name Gallery

	Opening Hours

Fair Dates	Opening Hours	Buyer Registration Hours	Admission
7-9 Sept (Tue-Thu)	9:30am-6pm	9am-5:30pm	Free admission to trade visitors aged 18 or above only.
10 Sept (Fri)	9:30am-5pm	9am-4:30pm	Free admission to trade visitors aged 18 or above. (Brand Name Gallery opens to public. Visitors under 12 will not be admitted.)