Originally Posted by In-N-Out
didn't read the article, but it's important to consider the context that AP and some other Swiss watchmakers have been around for 150 years. so prestigious brands don't really cater to short term demands / interests from customers and they are more concerned about staying relevant for decades and centuries, not quarters or years.
with that context above in mind, I think AP is one of the few brands that continues to find the right balance between conserving its heritage while still pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo. some years they might go too overboard and miss the mark (limited editions, celeb collabs, brand collabs), but they wouldn't be where they are today without some of the "out there" endorsements, collaborations, and associations with certain individuals/cultures today.
for those with a finance background, you understand that sometimes YoY % doesn't tell the complete story. you have to look at 2, 3, 4, 5 year CAGRs, calculations which ignore the swings in the years in between and only considers the compounded growth for a longer time period, considering only where you started and where you currently are at. so you might not see annual growth compared to prior year, but perhaps that's bc the prior year was an unusually great year and 2 years back is the better comp.
not the best analogy, but for a 150 years old brand like AP, I think it's better to compare 2024 to where AP was in 2019 like you mentioned.
in the last 5+ years:
-CODE was released, gen 1-2 were total misses, but AP came out with steel models, 38mm, and unique movements like the star wheel. I'm very bullish about this line and I think the code has a fantastic future
-jumbo finally got updated to a modern movement, something people have been wanting for many years
-mostly in-house movements across the board
-quick strap system on ROO
-full ceramic RO's starting to become some of the hottest watches in the industry (I believe they came out in 2017 first)
There are many more examples of some of the innovations we've seen from ap in the last ~5 years, but that's just top of mind.
easy to get disappointed with AP and the entire watch industry, but the same thing can be said about the iPhone. annual updates are relatively disappointing, but when you compare the iPhone 14 to the iPhone 8, what a massive difference.
anyway, I do wish AP releases a dual time though....been eyeing a GMT Pepsi for a while just to get the complication....would rather wait for a dual time even if it is on the Code or offshore
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