Significant decline in watch exports in March
Published: Thursday, Apr 18th 2024, 08:30
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The Swiss watch industry has suffered a further decline. In March, significantly fewer timepieces were exported abroad compared to the previous year. Watches "Made in Switzerland" were no longer as popular in the Far East in particular.
Watch exports fell by 16.1 percent year-on-year to CHF 2.00 billion in March, as reported by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) and the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) on Thursday.
This means that the Swiss watch industry has suffered a further setback. Back in February, the manufacturers of Rolex, Swatch and Co. had to report a 3.8% decline in exports after setting an export record in 2023. In January, exports had still increased by 3%.
China and Hong Kong in sharp decline
China and Hong Kong accounted for a particularly high proportion of the trend, as the watch association explained. Watch exports to these countries fell by more than 40 percent in each case. For March 2023, watch manufacturers had reported a significant increase in exports to China and Hong Kong following the reopening of the markets.
Die Exporte nach China zum Beispiel liegen jetzt unter dem Niveau vom März 2020, schrieb die FH am Donnerstag. Damals hatte die Covid-Pandemie den Sektor praktisch zum Stillstand gebracht.
Declines were recorded in all price categories. The value of expensive watches with an export price of over CHF 3,000 fell by 9.9%. The decline in the value of inexpensive watches (under CHF 500) was twice as steep at 18.8%, and the price category of CHF 500 to CHF 3000 (38.2%) saw a further doubling of the decline.
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