Thu, Apr 18th 2024
March reports a sharp downturn in Swiss watch exports, particularly to Far East markets, marking a continued struggle for the industry.
The Swiss watch industries has been in decline, and there are now signs of recovery. 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% 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.
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 accounted for a particularly high proportion of the trend, as the watch association explained. Watch exports to these countries fell by more than 40% 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.
Exports to China, for example, are now below the level of March 2020, the FH wrote on Thursday. At that time, the Covid pandemic had brought the sector to a virtual standstill.
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.
©Keystone/SDA
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