Investors in Fossil and Michael Kors don't have Apple envy. They have Apple anger.
Shares in the two companies, which both sell watches, have gotten crushed this year, each dropping 35 percent. They're two of the three worst performers in the S&P 500, with coffee company Keurig Green Mountain down the same amount.
Welcome to the world of the Apple Watch and a whole new category of companies threatened by the technology giant.
Read More
Watches account for three-quarters of Fossil's revenue. And since 2004, Fossil has been the exclusive manufacturer of watches for Kors, which sells the timepieces for $195 to $550 a pop.
Apple said on Thursday that the Apple Watch, which started selling online in April, will hit retail stores June 26. At the same time, the devices will be available to Web shoppers in Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan.
Whether or not the Apple Watch eventually becomes as dominant as the iPod or iPhone, it's already having a clear impact on the financial markets. It's not just Apple. Companies such as Samsung, Motorola, LG and Pebble are bolstering their own lines of smartwatches.
"We expect negative pricing pressure to follow, leading to retailer inventory destocking," wrote Erinn Murphy, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, in a May 27 report. Murphy, who has an "underweight" rating on Fossil and a "neutral" rating on Kors, sees "wearables as an additional catalyst or layer to our thesis versus a primary driver."
Michael Kors said on its earnings call last week that the "watch business is not healthy in North America." Fossil reported a 7 percent decline in year-over-year sales.
Neither company attributed to the problems to Apple or the emerging smartwatch category. Kors said consumers are shifting to its jewelry business, while Fossil blamed the drop on a strong dollar.
Read More
Calls to Fossil and Kors requesting comment weren't returned.
Don't expect them to roll over, though. Fossil CEO Kosta Kartsotis said on the company's first-quarter conference call that, "When it comes to connected accessories, we feel very strongly about both our progress and our prospects to be a strong catalyst for growth in the category."
Investors are skeptical.