Fashion Watch Companies Make Technology Statements at CES
Fashion watch companies are teaming up with technology companies to venture into the smart watch category, we found at CES. Fossil Group announced it's collaborating with Google and Intel to create “distinctive accessories” that connect customers with information and brands…
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they desire, the company said in a news release. And Guess was featured in the Martian Watches booth at Pepcom’s Digital Experience. Guess is using Martian Watches’ technology in a high-end smart watch due out in summer, Stanley Kinsey, Martian Watches president, told us. “Guess took their top design and put Martian inside,” Kinsey said. Martian will launch nine new models of its own this summer ranging from $199 to $399, and he expects the Guess watch to come out at the high end of that range. At Fossil Group, meanwhile, challenges facing wearables today are “aesthetics and the overall branded experience,” said Greg McKelvey, chief strategy and marketing officer. Technology is at a point “where we are much less limited” in the ability to deliver the kind of experience Fossil customers want from fashion wearables, McKelvey said. Fossil's goal is to “make 'tech on the wrist' not just culturally acceptable, but also outright desirable,” he said. Fossil’s connected accessory products will include jewelry and watches with and without digital displays, the company said, and the branded products will share a common software platform, enabling customers to buy multiple connected accessories within and across brands, he said. Fossil Group’s brands include Fossil, Skagen and Michele. For Fossil, the connected experience is “not just about wearables,” McKelvey said. “We're extending our capabilities from a focus on hardware to a dual focus on integrated hardware and software design and development,” he said. Fossil is “defining and building this category based on the premise of connecting customers” to tailored information they want, he said. How far technology will be able to penetrate the watch industry remains to be seen, though. A store employee in a luxury watch boutique at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas told us there were no smart watches in the collection and not likely to be in the near future. The shop carries sophisticated and glittery watches from Rolex, TAG Heuer and Breitling, she said, saying limited display case space most likely will preclude expansion into smart watches.