Rosneathian
1471
General rule: market consolidation leads to market capture
Sep 01, 2021,00:37 AM
We have international processes to guard against excessive vertical integration across industries. These are unevenly supported so usually ineffective. Even the most powerful countries have seen their competition / monopolies & mergers / anti-trust legal and regulatory frameworks, and enforcement mechanisms, weaken over the past four decades.
The watch industry is small compared to, say, jewellery, and vanishingly small compared to the mainstays of economic activity (agriculture and food, civil aviation, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, etc.). But even at this level, we appear to be going through a structural transformation of the market that's as significant as the group buyouts of two decades ago. Some in-depth analysis of the current state of this transition would be an interesting read.
It's early days, but my Spidey sense is buzzing. It tells me that the buying / collecting community needs to reflect hard on the implications of these changes, especially if we want this to be a thriving and inclusive hobby.