Could sports be the tonic that revives the luxury watch market?
Over the past few months, Swiss watch brands have lined up to announce multimillion-dollar deals with elite professional sports leagues and athletes, hoping to leverage their star power and the emotions of sports fandom to fire up a cooling market.
Last week, Breitling became the latest high-end brand to hitch its wagon to Formula 1, signing a deal with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team, adding to a deal it announced in August to be the official timepiece partner of the National Football League (N.F.L.).
In November, Norqain became what it called the Official Luxury Sports Watch of the National Hockey League (N.H.L.), and in January Frederique Constant introduced its first sports sponsorship, connecting with the nascent Pro Padel League, in which athletes compete in padel, a game often described as a cross between squash and tennis.
Brands such as Rolex, Omega and TAG Heuer have built their profiles on ties with sports, but in today’s saturated market, can sports sponsorships really help brands achieve their goals?