Under the leadership of Nicolas Hayek, Swatch Group, a manufacturer of Swatch watches, is widely credited with the revival of the Swiss watch industry, offering a consistent set of brands addressing all segments of the global watch market. New opportunities outside of the watch market have been studied in recent years (eg, telecommunications, automobiles), but they do not live up to expectations. In October 1998, Swatch Group launched the Swatch Internet Time (SIT). SIT share every day in 1000 "hits" equivalent to 86.4 seconds each. Each day began with @ 000 (@ was to reduce the share) and in the afternoon was @ 500. The new line was established meridian that passed over Swatch headquarters in Biel, Switzerland, making Biel Mean Time (BMT) with link to the official time. Many doubted Swatch motif SIT. Some believe that the launch of SIT was just a way to revive the Swatch brand in markets such as the U.S., where sales and Swatch image was suffering. And others questioned whether the concept would catch on to the SIT. "Hide
by Luke Wathieu, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Cate Reavis Source: Harvard Business School 18 pages. Publication Date: September 27, 1999. Prod. #: 500014-PDF-ENG
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