ABSTRACT
Although the technological development of the Japanese watch industry after 1945 (principally with quartz watches) caught the attention of the public and researchers, it was only one side of the worldwide success of this industry. If Japan was able to establish itself as the main challenger of Switzerland during the 1960s, it was also the consequence of a voluntarist and rationalized commercial strategy – aggressive and unfair from a Swiss point of view. The expansion of the Japanese watch industry in world markets was perfectly planned and relied on a rational positioning of products, an innovative distribution strategy, a dense and effi cient after-sale service network, and huge fi nancial investments in advertising. Facing the scope and the rationalism of such an expansion strategy, the Swiss watchmakers, unaccustomed to such competition and lacking Hattori’s fi nancial means, encountered considerable diffi culties.
