Swatch Group AG plans to launch a smartwatch within the next three months, just in time for Apple's smartwatch debut.
The Swiss watchmaker decided to make its own smartwatch after contributing components to other companies. The company hopes that by selling more watches, it will be able to increase revenue and reduce marketing and production costs for this year in order to recover from the dwindling Swiss franc currency, according to the Wall Street Journal.
So, what will make the Swatch smartwatch stand out from other players?
Swatch CEO Nick Hayek said that aside from it being internet-capable just like other brands, buyers can use their Swatch smartwatch to pay for their purchases because of its mobile payment function. Battery life is not an issue because it doesn't need to be charged.
"So you can imagine that our brands and consumers will benefit from this know-how in 2015," Hayek said.
Hayek admitted that he was a skeptic about the smartwatch's potential two years ago. He felt that such a device is too small to be used for communication and it might need too much charging.
He even said last year, after rumors that the company is partnering with Apple for the smartwatch, that Swatch is not interested in joining the smartwatch bandwagon because he is not seeing the wearable device as the "next revolution."
"Entrepreneurs are practical people, and they care more about being successful than being consistent," Luca Solca, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, told Bloomberg Business. "Hayek has always said they have relevant technology for a smartwatch -- sensors, display, battery -- and seems to be set to make the most if it. Better to have an option and a hand in this category than not to. Nobody can yet say how relevant smartwatches will be in the end."
Hayek is meeting with unnamed retailers for its payment system.
Investors seem to be receptive of the news as shares of Swatch Group climbed by 3.6 percent to $21.47 after the announcement.
