Retail trade Watch exports rise by almost 7 percent in August
Swiss watch manufacturers exported more timepieces abroad in August compared to the same month last year. Business developed well in markets such as the USA and Japan. However, demand remained weak in Hong Kong and China.
Swiss watch exports rose by 6.9 percent year-on-year to 1.95 billion Swiss francs in August, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) announced on Thursday. Over the first eight months, exports thus totaled 17.1 billion Swiss francs. This represents a fall of 1.4 percent.
Exports continued to recover in the month under review following a slight increase in July, the association wrote. Nevertheless, the trend and outlook for the industry remain negative. In the medium term, there is hardly any visibility for watch companies, which means that they are tending towards caution in their planning.
At the beginning of this week, the association drew attention to the tense situation in the watch industry and called on politicians and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to take measures to strengthen the industry's competitiveness.
Strong US demand
Demand for Swiss watches remains strong in the USA, the largest sales market. Exports there increased by 7.6 percent. However, deliveries to Japan (+14%), the UK (+3.5%) and Singapore (+9.3%) also increased.
On the other hand, exports to the important Asian markets of Hong Kong (-11%) and China (-5.9%) remained under pressure, as in previous months. Nevertheless, the decline has slowed compared to the decline in recent months, according to the press release.
Expensive watches remain in demand
Demand for expensive watches remains high. Those with an export price of CHF 3,000 or more recorded a 15 percent increase in the value of exports and the number of units shipped also rose by just under 5 percent.
In contrast, watches from the mid-price segments remained under pressure. In terms of value, 16% fewer watches were exported in the CHF 500 to CHF 3000 price range in August, while the CHF 200 to CHF 500 segment saw a 13% drop. The cheapest segment recorded a decline of 7.6 percent.
SDA
