What do you think has been the contribution of the marketing function, the product design function and the operations function to the success of Swatch? The success of Swatch took place despite the other branded goods’ equal desperation for growth and the value-conscious consumers’ resistance to price increases in an era of low inflation (Noella, 2002), and are opting for high-quality private label goods instead of brands (Devincentis and Kotcher, 1995). Thus, Swatch’s innovative evolution had essentially had broaden their consumer base.
For Swatch, the recuperation and improvement from their diminished market share due to their high-priced watches and the availability of low-priced brands, can be attributed to these three factors. First, the development of their product from the use of classy materials to plastic cased watches and the subsequent cost reduction that they garnered allowed for lower prices. Thus, enabling them to compete with other brands.
The production process having designed to be more efficient than its competitors allowed for the manufacture of cheaper products. The development of the operation however was due mainly to the change in the product design; both increasing the economies of scale of Swatch making it able to increase its target market and thus, boosting its market share. As illustrated by Carter, Melnyk and Handfield (1995) product design is one of the primary locus of competitiveness in today's dynamic marketplace.
What Swatch did was introduced a new trend coupled by an inherent company philosophy that welcomes change, and positions the firm to adopt, with flexibility and ease, differing goals and strategies as conditions warrant. And, finally, Swatch had configure itself in order to swiftly develop and launch new products, speedily manufacture these products, and deliver them to a more sophisticated, demanding, and competitive