Baselworld’s organizing committee announced an agreement with exhibitors and the cancellation of the 2021 edition. The high-end watch and jewelry fair was rescheduled January 28 – February 2, 2021, but will not be held anymore. The mass migration of the most important watchmaking brands and the coronavirus crisis are the main causes of this cancellation.
@baselworld/ @MCH Group
The MCH Group, which owns and operates the Baselworld jewelry and watch trade fair, canceled the 2021 show.
The Basel-based MCH Group (Switzerland), and representatives of the exhibitors at Baselworld have reached agreement on the settlement for the canceled Baselworld 2020. MCH Group is the international live marketing company headquartered in Basel hosting about 90 exhibitions, including the Art Basel shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong, as well as the watch and jewellery show Baselworld.
“The cancellation of the January 2021 show comes after a tumultuous three weeks that saw Rolex lead a revolt against Baselworld that resulted in eight top Swiss brands suddenly withdrawing from the 2021 show,” wrote hodinkee.
“Baselworld’s “Rolexit” crisis began on April 14, when Rolex, Patek Philippe, Tudor, Chanel, and Chopard announced that they were withdrawing from Baselworld 2021 to launch their own exhibition in Geneva in April 2021 in collaboration with the Watches & Wonders Geneva salon,” explained hodinkee.
“Baselworld has been fighting for its life for the past two years, as HODINKEE has reported. The sentiment in Swiss watch circles is that the loss of Rolex and Patek Philippe is a fatal blow to the show.”
Refund Dispute Was Settled, announced MCH Group in a statement.
In collaboration with the Swiss Exhibitors’ Committee, an amicable solution has been drawn up.
“I welcome the constructive attitude of the representatives of the MCHGroup, which has enabled us to find a balanced solution”, says Hubert J.du Plessix, President of the Swiss Exhibitors’ Committee. “I would also like to thank Patek Philippe, Rolex, Tudor, Chanel, Chopard, Hublot, Zenith and Tag Heuer, who, in a spirit of solidarity with the sector as a whole, have agreed to a lower refund so that the other exhibitors can benefit from better conditions.”
Bernd Stadlwieser, CEO of the MCH Group, said in a statement: “We are pleased to have worked together and, in just a short time, found a solution that is acceptable to everyone. In light of the large loss of revenue due to COVID-19 and our responsibility to all our stakeholder groups, this solution marks the limit of what is possible for us. With the amicable settlement for Baselworld 2020, we can now concentrate fully on the future.”
The MCH Group has taken the decision not to hold Baselworld 2021 that had been planned for 28 January to 2 February 2021. “Together with theexhibitors and visitors, we are working intensively on clarifying and discussing the requirements and options for new platforms,” says Michel Loris-Melikoff, Managing Director of Baselworld. “We will be taking a decision on possible follow-up formats by the summer and will then provide information on the new concept and scheduling.”
MCH Group organizes 40 exhibitions such as Art Basel in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong (modern and contemporary art), Baselworld (watches and jewellery), Grand Basel (automotive)[16][17], Swissbau (construction) or Swiss-Moto (motorbikes). MCH Group is a shareholder in Masterpiece London (majority), Design Miami and Design Miami Basel (minority).
MCH Group owns the exhibitions companies and exhibitions sites in Basel (Messe Basel) and Zurich (Messe Zürich), the exhibitions company in Lausanne (MCH Beaulieu Lausanne) and the Congress Center Basel.
@mch group
