FHH launches Watch Live in Dubai

Dubai, UAE - Watch Live, the first ever "instant learning" app for watches and watchmaking, was presented in Dubai, to representatives of the partner-brands and the local media. 8 brands lead the way, alongside the FHH. Developed by the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie and a participatory platform for watch brands, Watch Live is set to become the all-round, must-have app that will support sales staff on the floor in their day-to-day contact with customers.

The United States, Europe, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, UAE, Russia… In four years, FHH Academy has provided training for 11,000 people worldwide. Today's FHH Academy delivers 300 courses in the field each year, led by a squad of 21 certified trainers on every continent. Classes and certifications are given in ten languages, based on brand-neutral content that develops participants' knowledge of watches and watchmaking from the essentials to specialised subjects.

Created by the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, FHH Academy is aimed first and foremost at professional sales staff, to help them improve their understanding of the industry and, in doing so, boost their performance on the retail floor.

The objective? Increase the desirability of Haute Horlogerie.

The launch coincided with the official appointment of Mr. Alexander Schmiedt as Regional Delegate for the FHH. Alexander is also Regional Director for Vacheron Constantin in the Middle East. Alexander will become the point of contact for all FHH activities and will closely collaborate with the partner-brands. He will develop new initiatives in the coming year to further increase values and knowledge of fine watchmaking in the region.

An even more engaging experience for the end customer

The situation has changed. E-commerce means brands' brick-and-mortar distribution must adapt and offer not just the best in-store experience but also consistently meet the end customer's increasingly high expectations.

Sales staff must contend with a multitude of media and channels, making it hard for them to know where to focus and hard for brands to capture their attention – especially knowing that 75% of downloaded apps are never used.

Thanks to Watch Live, sales staff will be better informed, more motivated and more influential. Permanently connected to the latest news from brands and the industry as a whole, they can access information instantly and at any time to easily find the answers to the questions their customers are asking.

Watch Live: a complete app in three functions

Featuring product information, history and brand news, including a feed that aggregates partner-brands' posts in one click, Watch Live is as easy to use as any social media. Proposed in ten languages, Watch Live has a potential audience of 15,000 sales staff today, and certainly many more in the future.

FOLLOW: Rather than eight clicks on eight different brands, staff can get up-to-speed with developments at all the brands in one click.

LEARN: During the daily commute or a quiet moment in the store, Watch Live gives staff bite-sized learning opportunities that cover the basics of watchmaking as well as the specificities of partner-brands' collections and flagship watches.

PLAY: Learning is more effective when it's fun. Watch Live invites staff to work their way through challenges and progress to become the number-one seller and, at the same time, earn goodies, invitations and exclusive gifts which are managed by the brands in their space.

A participatory platform starting with eight brands

A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, Officine Panerai, Manufacture Roger Dubuis and Vacheron Constantin have joined forces with the FHH to jointly build this unique app, downloadable for free, and accompany their retailers on the journey to improved performance.

Thanks to this synergy between the brands, the answers sales staff are looking for are right there on their phone, with content that's constantly updated by the brands themselves.

Learn, play and sell better with Watch Live

The brands create stronger, direct ties with retailers, sales staff and sales forces, and are able to round out their training in the field.

Retailers can offer an enhanced in-store experience thanks to expert staff with up-to-date knowledge of the brands. Improved retail performance, a single entry point, less stress... it's all there to ensure staff are in an ideal situation when assisting a customer.

On June 27, eight brands together with the FHH put Watch Live on the map in Hong Kong. Watch Live is, of course, designed to welcome more Haute Horlogerie brands. This is only the beginning...

Watch Live is a free app, available in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as the Middle East and soon available in the USA/Canada, China and the rest of Europe. Watch Live can be downloaded from the App Store, Google Play and the main Chinese stores (Myapp, 360 Mobile Assistant, Xiaomi App Store, Xiaomi Game Center, etc.).