After a hiatus from interviewing, we are back with a very interesting discussion we had with Europa Star’s Serge Maillard. We actually wrote about Europa Star some time ago, a leading watch magazine founded in 1927 that has been publishing in the watch media space for almost a century. We spoke about the state of watch media today, the challenges facing it, and some of the controversies within it!
Serge Maillard, Publisher of Europa Star
Andres Ibarguen: In the last decade or so, watch media has expanded from classic print magazines and a few other formats, to today where there are podcasts, a swath of Instagram pages and more – are we headed in the right direction?
Serge Maillard: There has been an explosion in the amount of information available on watches for the general audience and I think that’s a great evolution. Never in history has there been so much information available – that’s the power of digital. At the same time, as quantity is not equal to quality, never has there been a higher need for accurate and relevant information, hence for journalism. The good thing is that today’s watch scene is full of topics to tackle for journalists, from blockchain to sustainability!
AI: What is it about watch media that makes it so distinct, and even more complicated than, other ‘niche’ forms of media?
SM: The watch world is unique in the sense that it’s so densely concentrated in a small region of a small country. It’s a small ‘village’ in a global world. Then there is probably no other industry in the world that relies so much on its past and its heritage. These are just a few of the peculiarities that make it different to follow – however I’m not sure it’s really more complicated to cover than another industry. In terms of technical aspects, I guess our colleagues in the space industry are busy too!
AI: Europa Star is a veritable institution in the watch industry – how has it survived for almost 100 years of change in the industry?
SM: We’ve been a family business for 4 generations so we believe in a long-term approach to operating a business. However it doesn’t mean that we do not adapt: our publishing house started under my great-grandfather by connecting Swiss watch brands with their retailers and representatives all around the world in the 1920s; under my grandfather, it was the golden age of mass production of watches and the arrival of quartz; under my father it was the shift to luxury publications as the watch industry went from utility to emotion with the re-birth of mechanical timepieces from the 1990s and the consolidation of the industry; now we are accompanying the constitution of a truly global watch ‘community’ where the frontier between professional and private is increasingly blurred. In particular, we have the chance of having a great heritage ourselves, which we are currently in the process of digitizing.
The Tudor Monarch from Europa Star’ Chinese edition
AI: We often read criticisms of watch publications that also sell products or otherwise undergo commercial activity outside of traditional ad revenue. What is your view on the intersection between commercial interests and journalistic interests, that many involved in watch media must confront? Is there too many ‘sponsored posts’?
SM: My philosophy is to label things. For instance, we have our own sponsored section called Highlights because we work with specific and targeted reports in our magazine and it’s a way for brands to introduce their new watches with their own dedicated space. Similarly, if we share press releases, we call them by what they are. Advertising or advertorial, as well as other contemporary means of financing, must serve to fund good journalism, but for that to happen a clear label is needed.
AI: Can a watch journalist or writer maintain integrity while also selling the products, or being involved in the sale of products, they may write about? Furthermore, is there an absolute answer to this question or should we take it on a case-by-case basis?
SM: It depends on the DNA of your company. Many contemporary watch media were originally founded by private collectors so it makes sense for them to trade watches, as they are an evolution of personal blogs or sites that were also trading. In the exact other direction, a lot of retailers are now producing media contents because they realise that you need to build a strong community to sell. Again, it’s about labelling things for what they are, but the digital age means that all traditional borders are disrupted. What about Facebook: Is it a private tool? A professional tool? My mother uses it, brands too. I think it will still take some time to find a balanced structure for all media where ethics meets revenue in this disrupted environment. Probably, this question will actually never be solved, as conflicts of interest certainly started with the birth of journalism! But what’s for sure is that the need for good content will stay. And in a way, the digital age also put back on the main stage the concept of subscription and that’s certainly a good thing.
AI: Following this line of thinking, do you think it is possible or likely that small or new publications can survive with only traditional ad revenue? Or are more creative forms of revenue generation warranted?
SM: It’s all about the right balance between several resources. Advertising remains important in various forms, as are subscriptions which we have fostered these last years thanks to the digitisation of our archives. As the watch world itself is hit hard by the pandemic, I think it’s a real litmus test for the strength of your business model. At the end of the day, if the watch ecosystem remains a healthy business, there will be a space for dedicated media.
AI: Many of our ‘peers’ have in the past been targeted by what many describe as ‘internet trolls’. I’m sure you have an idea of the instances I’m attempting to describe. Do you think these ‘trolls’ are in any way legitimate? Is this form of ‘open access’ or ‘free expression’ something to revel in in the watch industry? Or instead, an unwanted symptom of our current cultural climate?
SM: As I had the chance to express in our latest issue dedicated to the new collecting scene, I think digital bashing is just revealing the constitution of a strong and passionate watch community, where the end consumer finally claims their seat at the table. Previously the dialogue was mostly held between the brands and their retailers around the world. Now the end consumer has a say. It’s just a symptom of a much wider evolution.
1969 Europa Star cover featuring a Titoni Space King
AI: As Europa Star has survived many a significant change over the decades, how do you view the current period in the watch industry’s history – specifically in regards to watch media? Is it really all that significant in a historical context or is it more so, those with interest ‘hyping’ it up, if you will?
SM: I thing horology is increasingly becoming part of the realm of culture – as it was recently recognised as world heritage by UNESCO. As you see with the vintage trend, there is a huge fascination for the culture of watchmaking. I see ourselves as playing a part in this evolution.
AI: There are obviously some distinct and ‘big’ players in the world of watch media. What sort of responsibility do you think they carry, if at all, as the fountain of watch information is expanded and made more accessible through technology?
SM: Information is becoming more and more abundant. Today’s media are very relevant, as the role of journalists is to “digest” and organise the information. Any industry needs vibrant specialised media. The risk is that this fountain becomes dry if the industry does not preserve this ecosystem. A watch world without its independent voices would become endangered.
AI: What is your view on watch media in emerging markets? The same effects described above in terms of new forms of watch media arising are present also in regions of the world where languages like Spanish, Mandarin, or Arabic are dominant. What challenges do publications like yours face in entering, or in general, in these markets?
SM: As far as we’re concerned and due to our origins as a global media for the watch industry since the 1920s, we have always published in several languages. The battle we are engaged in, along with other media, clubs, communities, brands and federations rather than against them, is to preserve the cultural and social relevance of watchmaking itself. Everyone can have their own contribution in this living ecosystem. We’re all fighting together against the biggest danger of all for this industry: that of watches as something no longer culturally and socially relevant in the modern world.
A very ‘70s Europa Star cover featuring the Jaguar XJ-S-inspired Nepro XJ-S
1997 Europa Star cover
AI: Print media is not as powerful as it once was today, how do you view the division between print and digital media in the context of watch media? For how much longer should we expect print media to have a significant role in the watch industry?
SM: Our daily life is digital. It’s the new standard. Today the mainstream media are digital, as much as the mainstream watches are connected! So, what we are fighting for, as mechanical watchmakers or as print media, is to provide a different kind of experience. Very often, when I interview someone and I tell them the article is going to be featured online, they also ask: are you going to print it, too, right? Print keeps its relevance, but it has a different social and cultural meaning than in the past. While digital is a never-ending race, print somewhat “grounds” us and obliges us to think longer term – just like a mechanical watch.
AI: After Baselworld last year, we’ve just been through Watches & Wonders – during the pandemic. What does a world without Baselworld look like, given the history Europa Star has with the event? There are certainly big shoes to fill; will we see this responsibility fall to the shoulders of many distinct operators instead of one larger one?
SM: Indeed, we’ve been exhibitors at Basel for more than 80 years! While some people were wondering why physical events still existed a few years ago, we’ve seen how much we missed physical events during this pandemic crisis. Nature abhors a vacuum and crisis are a booster for “cooperation in competition”: at Watches and Wonders you had for the first time in a long time the heavyweights exhibiting together, albeit digitally. When there is a deadly threat, we can still find the means to regroup and fight for the relevance of the horological ecosystem as a whole. There are locomotives as much as third class carriages but we’re all on board and this industry needs this kind of communion!
Thank you for sharing with us, Serge.
The 1968 cover of Europa Star for the Mexican Olympics that year
A Breitling Aerospace ref. E79362 with its original box, currently on sale here.