Watches have always been a complementary accessory. Initially they were
designed to do nothing but tell time. Since the inception of timepieces,
companies have tried to make their mark in retail markets all over the
world.
During the 1920's, the then mayor of Tokyo coined the name
Citizen, for a locally produced watch, in hopes that all citizens could
afford and wear a quality time piece. Although their first product was a
pocket watch, it started making Citizen watches number one for a
reason.
That reason was and still is their interest in creating quality products
at reasonable pricing. They have accomplished that time and time again
during their run to become the largest selling watch company in the
world.
This was not a battle that was won easily. Initially they were
competing against two US giant companies in Timex and Bulova. However, a
well known Japanese brand called Seiko had already made quite a splash
in the US market with quality time pieces that soldiers brought back
from the Vietnam War.
Knowing they had excellent quality, Citizen attacked the US market with
an unusual approach. Instead of just trying to sell product, they
developed partnership arrangements with many of the large national
jewelry store chains.
This was their way to gain a small market share
and to show the customer that they were in it to win it! This plan was
successful in establishing them as an up and coming brand, but taking
case space from the aforementioned companies was not going to be easy.
With an aggressive sales team, they attacked the local jewelry stores
offering great prices and creative financing. This opened many new
accounts for them and slowly their market share improved. But after
great prodding from the sales team, they decided to embark on one of the
most revolutionary marketing campaigns in watch history.
Instead of the
traditional commercials showing a variety of styles and prices, Citizen
promoted the accuracy and dependability of their products by comparing
them to well known landmarks. The accuracy was compared to the Atomic
Clock in Colorado and their dependability was associated with Big Ben in
England. No products were shown!
This idea created an amazing buzz at the retail level and people started
asking for Citizen watches. This was their move to take over as number one, in a
very crowded industry and it worked. Sales started to sky rocket during
the late 1980's as they overtook Seiko as number one in the US market.
Once they achieved this position, they did not stop. Their use of
technology launched them into the new century with the thinnest light
powered watch found anywhere.
This timepiece was less than 4.5 millimeters thick and was powered by
the sun. These two ideas created a new buzz in a softening watch market.
Their continued interest in creating high tech, quality products gave
them a new strength and even more market share.
The watch industry had
been struggling with the massive amount of inexpensive imports using
quartz technology. There was truly a need for new and exciting
technology.
With an eye to emerging ideas of being green, they introduced the
Eco-Drive line. These products required no battery and were totally
powered by light. With a combination of style and technology, this
series has been a huge success.
Citizen customers have become accustomed
to them staying ahead of the curve so they have become life long fans.
So even in a soft economy, Citizen watches are still selling at record
paces.
While most consumers are only familiar with Citizen men's watches, that only
makes up about 40% of their sales. They have expanded with successful
products in the clock industry, eyeglass frames and even the health
market.
They continue to strive for excellence and have achieved it with
each new introduction. Citizen has an eye on the future and continues
to be an innovator and marketer unlike anyone else in the watch
industry.
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