Gucci Pulls Out of Baselworld

RAPAPORT… Gucci has become the latest major brand to skip this year’s Baselworld show, citing the new timing of the event as its reason for staying away, according to the fair’s organizers.



The dates of the 2020 exhibition — April 30 to May 5 – were “too late” for Gucci, a spokesperson for the show’s management said Tuesday in an email to Rapaport News. “We very much regret that Gucci will not be exhibiting at Baselworld 2020. However, we [have had] very constructive and cooperative discussions with the Italian group in recent weeks,” the spokesperson continued.



Baselworld has switched its dates to later in the spring, having traditionally scheduled the event for March. It made the change to synchronize it with Watches & Wonders Geneva (formerly Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie), which runs from April 25 to 29.



Gucci occupied a prominent spot in Hall 3 at Baselworld in 2019, close to watch companies Breitling and Carl F. Bucherer. It won’t be the only big name absent in 2020, with Breitling also saying it would miss the event due to a schedule clash. Swatch Group pulled all its brands out of the 2019 edition, arguing that the show was no longer relevant, and has indicated it has no plans to return in the coming years. However, newcomers include Dolce & Gabbana, which will make its debut at the fair this year.



Gucci, which is part of the Kering luxury-retail group, has been increasingly focused on high-end jewelry, opening a store dedicated to the category at Paris’s Place Vendôme in July 2019. The company had not commented to Rapaport News at press time Tuesday.




Image: Gucci’s booth at the 2019 Baselworld show. (Baselworld)