Takes a Licking and Stops Ticking

Why you don't need a watch anymore.

The 1969 Chicago song "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" couldn't be written today. Everyone knows what time it is, even the people who aren't wearing watches.

These days, the correct time is everywhere: in the corner of the computer screen, on the television in elevators, on cable news channels, in train stations, as well as on car radios, microwaves, ovens, and in all sorts of public places. And, perhaps most significantly, on cell phones, BlackBerries, and iPods. Most people these days carry a highly accurate and durable time piece, but it isn't a watch.

All of this is bad news for the watch industry—or at least for that sector of the watch industry that sells watches meant to be used to tell time, as opposed to watches that are meant to be worn as fashion accessories or as portable symbols of status and wealth. As in many other consumer areas, the middle is getting squeezed. According to Deborah Rudinsky, merchandise manager at the Doneger Group, sales of moderately priced watches—time pieces that retail for under $200—were probably down about 10 percent in 2005.

significantly: 重要地
BlackBerries: 黑莓机
accurate: 精确的
durable: 持久耐用的
fashion accessories: 时尚装饰品
portable: 随身携带的；轻便的
status: 地位；身份
squeeze: 挤压
moderately priced: 价格适中的

Judging by the results of Fossil, a publicly held retailer that specializes in watches, those difficulties continued through 2006. Fossil's bread and butter is making moderately priced watches in Asia and selling them through its own stores and outlets (148, by my count), and through midrange department stores. Its house brands include Fossil ($55-$165) and Relic ($45 to $85). Fossil's 2005 10-K shows that domestic sales of all watch products barely budged between 2004 and 2005, rising from $241.9 million to $245.2 million. In 2005, sales of Fossil watches fell 10 percent, while sales of the cheaper Relic watches fell 17.6 percent. The slump evidently continued through 2006. Through the first half of 2006, domestic watch sales fell another 7.3 percent thanks to a 21.4 percent decrease in Fossil sales, although sales recovered somewhat in the third quarter and fourth quarter. By my calculations, Fossil's domestic watch sales were $253.3 million in 2006, compared with $245.2 million in 2005. That rise of 3.3 percent is pretty meager, considering inflation and the growth in the number of stores Fossil operates.

Obviously, one can't conclude too much from the results of one company. Perhaps Fossil's designs simply didn't strike a chord in 2005 and 2006. But the results indicate that midrange watches are now clearly discretionary products. And, judging by my admittedly casual research, many consumers are using their discretion and deciding not to wear one. A canvass of Slate's New York bureau and the adjacent Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive advertising sales office revealed that fewer than half of these mostly young, urban, educated professionals were wearing watches. They don't need to.

For companies like Fossil, the future rests on catering to people who assuredly don't need a watch (or several watches) to tell the time, but who want them anyway. "The customer is buying a fine watch more as a jewelry piece and less as a timekeeper," said Doneger Group's Rudinsky. Women are drawn to watches that help accessorize different outfits. Men are drawn to high-tech gadgetry. Fitness geeks of both sexes opt for souped-up digital watches equipped with heart rate monitors and GPS technology. "To capture younger customers, watches today need to have much more of a fashion nuance," said Rudinky.

At the high end, watchmaking remains a thriving business, as the global wealthy spend consistently for lavish watches. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry 2005 report notes that Swiss manufacturers have suffered a long-term decline in unit volume: Exports fell from 28.2 million units in 2002 to 24.3 million units in 2005. But while they're selling fewer units, Swiss watchmakers seem to be selling more high-end watches. Sales data from January 2007 (a month when Wall Street hotshots were spending their massive bonuses) indicate that while the volume of U.S. purchases was down marginally from January 2005, the dollar value in francs was up nearly 14 percent. That can't all be chalked up to a weaker dollar.

Traffic at Fossil outlets may have been disappointing last year. But given how well the wealthy are doing in this economy, it's likely that traffic at Tourneau stores was impressive. Meanwhile, some of the smartest minds in fashion are laying bets that the watch will continue to evolve from a quotidian utility into beloved bauble. Polo Ralph Lauren announced that it would create a new joint venture with Swiss luxury goods company Richemont to peddle luxury watches and fine jewelry.
  
publicly held: 上市公司
bread and butter: 主要支柱
outlet: 途径；渠道
midrange: 中等的
house brands: 厂牌；商标
budge: （轻微的）移动
slump: 不景气；下滑
recover: 恢复；复苏
meager: 不足的；虚弱的
inflation: 通货膨胀
strike a chord: 打动（消费者）
indicate: 说明
discretionary product: 非必购品
discretion: 判断力
canvass: 民意调查
reveal: 揭示；显示
cater to: 迎合
assuredly: 确定无疑地
timekeeper: 记录时间的人
accessorize: 装饰
gadgetry: 小配件；小玩意
geek: 发烧友
opt for: 选择
souped-up: 加强型的
heart rate monitor: 心率显示器
fashion nuance: 时尚味道
high-end: 高端
thriving: 繁荣兴旺的
lavish: 豪华的；奢侈的
unit volume: 单位数量
hotshots: 精英
massive bonuses: 巨额奖金
marginally: 稍微的；
franc: 法郎
chalk up to: 归因于
traffic: 交易量；交通量
Tourneau: 美国著名手表零售商
lay bet: 打赌
quotidian btility: 日常用品
bauble: 小玩意
joint venture: 合资公司
peddle: 兜售

值得学习的词汇：

fashion accessories: 时尚装饰品

symbol of status and wealth: 财富与身份的象征

bread and butter: 支柱；谋生之道
例如：Cooking hamburgers at MacDonald's is not the job I expected to get with my degree in business administration. But at least it's my bread and butter until I find a job that suits my education better.

我有一个企业管理的学位，在麦当劳做汉堡宝本来不是我想要的工作。但是，在我找到一个跟我的学识比较相配的工作前，现在的工作至少能让我过日子。

cater to: 迎合
例如：Those newspapers cater to the lowest tastes. 那些报纸迎合最低级的趣味。

chalk up to: 归因于
例如：The failure of the plan can't simply be chalked up to bad luck. 这个计划的失败不能简单地只归因为运气不好。


值得学习的句型：

Fossil's 2005 10-K shows that domestic sales of all watch products barely budged between 2004 and 2005, rising from $241.9 million to $245.2 million.
Fossil 2005年的10-K年报显示，2004-2005年度手表的国内销量只有轻微变化，从241.9million升到245.2million.

句子的黑体字部分是我们需要学习的表示数值变化与对比的表达法。相似的表达可以看文章里的另外一个句子：

Exports fell from 28.2 million units in 2002 to 24.3 million units in 2005.
出口从2002的28.2 million 下降到2005年的24.3million.

very english reading material!

thank you for bringing it here,renren2b!

楼上的文章抄自朗文英语学习网 http://www.learnmore.com.cn ,怎么也得写个出处吧？