:

: Heuer - Tag Heuer passion?

: Hi all, hope you are all well, just
: wondering, i know this is a heuer forum but
: i visit it daily to hear all you guys rave
: about the automatic heuers and how good they
: are.......... Hmmm, the Manual winds are
: pretty nice too, and I have a number of
: Quartz models I like a lot... and... truth
: be told, there are a lot of nifty brands out
: there.

: i have learnt a lot about collecting watches
: from reading this forum and other
: like-minded folk, and realise what they mean
: to you guys. They are fun!

: I now have the bug maybe a poor mans bug at
: that but still it is becoming a passion,
: over the last 18mths i have collected
: numerous tag heuers and a few heuer 1000
: series, all quartz movements...yes i can see
: you all wince with disgust but hey! we can't
: all be made with the same mould....
: There is nothing wrong with having one's own
: tastes.

: Anyhow the question i ask is why do Tag Heuer
: not cater for the poor man and his watch
: collection...haha, loads of laughs, Tag
: Heuer or Heuer is not a poor mans watch????,
: WELL IT IS IF YOU COLLECT ROLEX WATCHES!!!!.
: I think TAG-Heuer is more interested in
: catering towards it's bottom line and
: short/long-term viability first. It probably
: goes without saying that TAG-Heuer makes
: more profit on higher dollar watches than
: "Poor-Man's" models.

: The point i will come to later, the heuer
: company was successful prior to 'Techniques
: d' Avant-Garde' At times it was, however
: it also was at or near the brink of
: bankrupcy several times as well

: yet maybe did not sell as many watches prior
: to joining with 'Tag', a serious rethink and
: joining of two companies resulted in Tag
: Heuer, Well, TAG essentially bought
: Heuer and choose to go with a different
: market plan, but...

: thus the first model to be introduced being
: the introduction of the F1 watch which
: appealed to the poor man and his budget,
: I'm not sure that the F1 was the first
: TAG-Heuer or not, The first TAG-Heuer I saw
: was an S/EL, but...

: this i must stress boosted the company
: profits way above expectation, approx 66
: million Swiss francs in 1988 as opposed to
: only 11 million francs in 1982. Yet some
: time later it was - GONE!!!!. The
: question is how much of that profit is due
: to the F1, how much to other new models like
: the S/EL, how much is due to marketing, and
: how much is due to other market forces.
: Swatch was also phenominally popular along
: the same timeframe. It should also be
: pointed out that there was a pretty serious
: recession during the last part of the 1970's
: and into the early 1980's at least in the
: United States, and by the time the economy
: picked up again it was the mid-1980's...

: I'm not saying that what seems to be your
: conclusion (the F1's were in main
: responsible), is wrong, just that there were
: probably other factors involved as well...

: Now we have numerous re-issues Autavia,
: Carrera, Monza, you get the picture....yes
: all very good watches but very pricey, where
: has the poor mans watch gone???, a £500
: pound sel is possibly the bottom line -
: quite possibly the most shocking watch i
: have seen to date, what basis does a watch
: have to expect a re-issue, 30 years old, 50
: years????, availability or just pure
: interest from guys like yourselfs. I
: really don't know, and in fact when I look
: at the Monza "Classic" I wonder
: how they see that as a Classic based on the
: original Monza when the original Monza looks
: nothing like the current model. The current
: model looks more like a Camaro or
: Silverstone than old Monza at least to me.
: It's a real mutation in my mind.

: I am sure Tag Heuer could make absolutely
: millions from a re-issue of the F1 series,
: I'm sure that's very attainable, but the
: question is that a direction that TAG-Heuer
: wants or needs to pursue?

: Believe me, I've been as outspoken against the
: current trend of certain watch brands
: (TAG-Heuer, Omega, Zenith, etc.) marching
: upscale in some Quixotic quest to engage
: Rolex. I think it's foolish and shortsighted
: for firms to pull up roots, and abandon it's
: existing market niche leaving it's loyal
: customers in the lurch. I understand the
: need to "follow the money" the
: problem becomes when is the market that your
: walking towards too cluttered to support you
: and the others trying to fill that need,
: and who has just taken over your old niche
: and is dug in there like a tick?

: yet had it not been for the poor mans F1
: there may never have been a re-issue of any
: of these fine watches, It's hard to say
: without marketing data that we will likely
: never be privvy to. Certainly it's possible
: that the F1 keep the doors open, afterall...
: Swatch's success was likely key to many of
: the brands under the "Swatch Group
: umbrella" to weather the trials and
: tribulations of the late 1970's through
: 1980's...

: would the original Autavia's, Carrera's,
: Monza's been as collectable or worth a kings
: ransom had the Heuer brand gone to ground
: prior to the joining of Heuer & TAG
: I would think that all of the original Heuer
: models would be even more collectable and
: worth even more if Heuer had died.

: When viewed from the other (Heuer) end of the
: Magnifing Glass, the TAG-Heuer merger was
: nearly as bad as losing the Heuer brand.
: With the exception of the holdover models,
: there is a distinct separation between the
: Pre-TAG models (like the Autavia, Carrera,
: 510 chronographs, etc. and the S/EL, 2000,
: 3000, 4000, 6000 and F1's...

: Don't get me wrong, I'm a firm believer that I
: would much rather have a healthy and
: profitable TAG-Heuer than a dead and largely
: forgotten Heuer. But there was (less the
: aforementioned holdover models) a distinct
: break pre and post merger.

: and the succesful F1, Again, I don't
: think anyone outside of someone privvy to
: all of Heuer's and TAG-Heuer's books in the
: timeframe (say 1978-1990) would be able to
: conclude that the F1 is the sole saviour of
: the merged firm. I'm sure it contributed
: though...

: i would like a re-issue F1 and soon!!!!,
: If you've read this far, you get some
: possibly good news... How about two weeks?

:

: I don't know if it's a re-issue or not, but you
: can always contact TAG-Heuer and send them
: some feedback!

: maybe you all have a lot of poor mens F1's to
: thank, warmest regards, James. It's
: certainly a possibility. Maybe we do, maybe
: not.

: I would like to see TAG (and Omega, Zenith,
: etc.) consider entry level models. While I
: am not particularly fond of them, many
: people are and they are a good way to bring
: customers into the fold. General Motors has
: thrived for decades by having entry level
: brands (Chevrolet) that pass the customer up
: through Pontiac (Performance), Oldsmobile
: (style), Buick (Luxury), Cadillac (Flagship)
: divisions throughout the customer's life.
: Perhaps such a philosophy would succeed in
: the watch industry.

: -- Chuck

:

: Chuck Maddox

:

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:

:
Chuck, thanks, as always a very thorough and informative reply. Thanks for taking the time out, it certainly makes me think slightly differently, the new F1???, well i do hope, thanks again, James.