INTRODUCTION

Tag Heuer is a Swiss watch manufacturing company. It produces one of the finest and excellent watches for both men and women. The company has a long history of producing watches, fashion accessories, eyewear and mobile phones for over 150 years. Its products hold high prestige and value. Customers use its products as a symbol of class, and inspiration. Throughout its history, Tag Heuer has introduced one of the finest quality watches. This is why it is one of the most famous watches manufacturing in the world at present. It has a brand presence in more than 150 countries in the world. Tag Heuer is a subsidiary of the LVMH. The headquarters of the company is in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

This article identifies specs and insights of Tag Heuer Watches, its background, salient features, branding strategy, stats, and a wrap up to summarize its different characteristics. The discussion will justify why Tag Heuer is ranked among the top most selling watches in the world.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF TAG HEUER WATCHES

INITIAL STAGES

Edouard Heuer founded Uhrenmanufaktur Heuer AG  founded Tag Heuer in 1860. They founded the company in the Swiss city of St-Imier. The company got recognition for its first chronograph in 1882 and in 1887. Commonly known as an “oscillating pinion”, it is still used by major watchmakers of mechanical chronographs. Since then, the company achieved the following milestones:

• In 1911, Heuer designed a rugged instrument called The “Time of Trip”. It was developed for the dashboards of the new generation of vehicles. The device was a precision chronograph, indicating the time of day on the main dial.
• He introduced his first chronograph in 1914. Later in 1916, his son Charles-Auguste Heuer led a project to take stopwatches from 1/5 second to displays of 1/50 and 1/100 second, in the Mikrograph and Semikrograph.
• In 1933, Heuer introduced the “Autavia”. It was a 12-hour stopwatch. It had a dashboard timer to meet the toughest Automotive and Aviation requirements. 
• He introduced “The Flieger” in 1935 and made several improvements in the versions of this watch in later years. The watch was famous for a two-register chronograph.

POST WORLD WAR II

• In 1942, the company introduced a three-register chronograph of “The Flieger.” The company also started to produce innovative watches for sportsmen, travelers, and other enthusiasts.
• The company launched a colorful new watch called the “Solunar” in 1949.
• Later in 1950, a three-register chronograph called the “Mareographe” came into the market. It provided the athletes an opportunity to track the high and low tides, or the phases of the moon, on a chronograph with a 12-hour recorder.
• In 1955, the company improved several models of Solunar and Seafarer.
• Heuer introduced an entirely new type of stopwatch in 1957. It became famous for the title of “The Ring Master.” The stopwatch had brightly-colored, interchangeable rings to time different events.
• In 1962, the company launched a full collection of “The Autavia Chronograph.”
• The company also introduced a colorful collection of its chronographs in 1969. These included colorful models of Autavia, Carrera, and Mocaco models.

SINCE 1980

The company brought modern techniques under the ownership of d’Avante Garde Business Group from 1985. The new management made several modifications and innovations in the previous models of the company. These watches are still in business with a high value among customers. It introduced:

Tag Heuer 1 in 1983.

S/el as in 1987. It was later renamed as “Link 1.”

New campaigns involving Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna in the 1990s.

The campaigns launched were having slogans like:

“Don’t Crack Under Pressure.” 

 “Success. It’s a Mind Game.”

• Improved versions of :

TAG Heuer Carrera.

Monaco.

In 1999, LVMH took the ownership of the company.

SINCE 2000

The company introduced new techniques and came up with a new vision to lead the watch manufacturing industry. This approach enabled the company to launch:

The Monaco V4 in 2004.

The Aquaracer in 2004.

CV2010 Carrera in 2008.

CALIBRE 1887 MOVEMENT in 2010.

The Tag Heuer connected watch in 2015.

The limited-edition Fragment Design TAG Heuer Carrera  in 2018.

BUSINESS MODEL OF TAG HEUER

To cope with the issue of increasing demand for its products, TAG Heuer has emphasized its strategy on offering its products online and with convenience to its customers. The company is under the ownership of LVMH. This has enabled the company to manufacture and sell other items like:

Men’s watches

Women’s watches

Smartphones

Shoes

Sunglasses

Wallets

Bags

Jackets

TAG Heuer has a wide distribution network in almost 4,000 outlets and 180 TAG Heuer boutiques in 57 countries.. The business model of the company stresses a huge emphasis on maintaining a strong distribution network and reaching customers by making direct contact with them through these distribution centers.

CURRENT BRAND IDENTITY OF TAG HEUER

Since it is the subsidiary of the LVMH, the company is enjoying a strong brand image. The company is constantly witnessing an increase in sales due to its quality products and customer-centered approach. The strong brand identity and brand image have enabled TAG Heuer to diversify its range of products from watches to wallets, bags, accessories, mobile phones, shoes, etc.

MARKETING MIX OF TAG HEUER

TAG Heuer uses a value-based marketing strategy for reaching its customers. It uses offers its products in different models and for most high-income level groups. To understand its marketing strategy in detail, the 4 P’s of marketing i.e. Product, Price, Place, and Promotion are discussed below:

PRODUCT

It makes different kinds of wallets, bags, accessories, mobile phones, shoes, etc. for both men and women. The company has also collaborated with

PRICE

It charges a price for different income level groups by making different quality watches and clocks in different markets.

PLACE

It offers its products through its website. For a couple of years, it is also using it is mainly focussing on online sales. The company has authorized dealers and boutiques in almost every part of the world.

PROMOTION

TAG Heuer has always come up with strong marketing campaigns. The company understands the value of digital marketing and, has used medium like:

Magazines

Airports

Billboards

TV commercials

Celebrity endorsements like:

Tiger Woods

Cristiano Ronaldo

Bella H

Leonardo DiCaprio

Lewis Hamilton

Chris Hemsworth

Kay Li

Brad Pitt

Angelababy

Cameron Diaz

Cara Dilvingine

Uma Thurman

Maria Sharapova

TAG Heuer has sponsored and entered into partnerships many companies, teams and events like:

Formula 1

Porsche Formula E

Premiere League

Aston Martin

Bundesliga

Red Bull

SWOT ANALYSIS OF TAG HEUER

To understand the marketing strategy of TAG Heuer in detail, here is an overview of SWOT analysis. It includes

STRENGTHS

• Exclusive designs.
• Strong brand image.
• Huge presence in more than 150 countries.
• Strong retail and distribution network.
• Strong brand image.
• Aggressive and effective marketing.
• Partnerships with the world’s renowned companies.
• Huge market share.

WEAKNESSES

• Competition.
• Similar products from competitors.
• Expensive.

OPPORTUNITIES

• Can increase the use of online means to increase market share.
• Come up with low-cost models of its products without compromising on quality.
• Seasonal Discounts and offers can add value and generate revenue for the company.

THREATS

• Impact of COVID-19.
• Trade wars between developed economies.
• New entrants with low prices.

STATS

Founded: 1860

Headquarters: La-Chaux-De-Fonds, Switzerland

CEO: Frédéric Arnault

Brand worth: CHF1. 5 billion

CONCLUSION

Companies are facing a severe challenge due to the impact of COVID-19. Companies like Rolex, Citizen, Hublot, etc are shifting there focus on using online channels to reach their customers. The global economy has forced low customer demand across all sectors. TAG Heuer must understand this point. The company has without any doubt a strong brand image and offers a wide range of products. It is only the future business strategy of reaching its customers that must be thoroughly examined.