LVMH has announced that it will participate in the 2020 Baselworld fair, a welcome endorsement for a show that has recently suffered a number of prominent defections.

LVMH’s popular watch brands Bulgari, Hublot, TAG Heuer, and Zenith will all have stands at the show.

In a statement, Baselworld managing director Michel Loris-Melikoff said the fair will help the brands design innovative exhibition formats that will let them “express their creativity” and provide “brand immersion.”

“This is a creative and completely open process with no constraints or thought restrictions that we are tackling together,” Loris-Melikoff said in a statement. “Our concept for the Experience Platform is precisely that: enabling brands to flexibly present themselves to their various target audience.”

Stéphane Bianchi, chief operating officer of both the LVMH watchmaking division and TAG Heuer, said in the same statement that he supported “Loris-Melikoff and his team in their project to redefine and renew the concept of this major event for the Swiss watch industry. Our discussions and the changes that will be implemented will allow us to reassess our future involvement after the next edition.”

The decision is good news for the fair, which also recently announced that Rolex sister brand Tudor would be getting its own booth.

Once the undisputed king of watch fairs, the 102-year-old show has suffered a number of embarrassing defections from major brands over the last year, starting with the decision by the world’s largest timepiece company, the Swatch Group, to sit out this year’s fair. CEO Nick Hayek recently indicated that its decision to stay away would be permanent.

Earlier this month, the show suffered another blow, as Breitling opted to sit out the next edition, citing the show’s change in dates to late April.

Baselworld 2020 will take place from April 30 to May 5, at Messe Basel in Basel, Switzerland.

(Image courtesy of Baselworld)

Rob Bates

JCK News Director