Exports on the rise: Swiss watches continue to be in demand worldwide

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Watch exports in January increased by 3.1 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 1.92 billion francs, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Protection (BAZG) and the Swiss Watch Industry Association (FH) announced on Tuesday. The watch industry is in relatively good shape, as evidenced by the overall declining import and export figures for January.

The sector continues the positive trend clearly evident from last year. More watches were sold abroad in 2023 than ever before. Watch exports increased by 7.6 percent to 26.7 billion francs last year.

In January 2024, the most important markets for the watch industry continued to grow; There was an export increase of 2.2 percent in the USA and 5.0 percent in China. But there were outliers too: Hong Kong (-4.7 percent) and Germany (-11.4) were notable exceptions, while Singapore (+10.2) and the doubling of watch exports to Qatar (+118.4) were positive represented outliers.

Watches made of precious metals attracted great attention in the new year, especially abroad. As the watch association wrote in its statement, they accounted for most of the increase. In contrast, watches made of steel and bimetal have lost some ground.

Looking at different price categories, there was a 5.5 percent increase in the number of watches exported with a price below 200 francs compared to January 2023. This is due to the “Other materials” category. However, it was stated that the export volume in this price segment, measured in francs, decreased (-4.3 percent), especially due to the decline in steel goods.

While the price range remained at the same level as last year in terms of value between 200 and 3,000 francs, the entire growth in the sector was particularly influenced by watches priced above 3,000 francs (+4.3) francs. The success of luxury watches has been shaping the table in watch export statistics for years. (SDA)

Source :Blick