While foreign sales of Swiss luxury timepieces continued to grow in January, sales of more affordable models declined. The United States and China remained buoyant.
After three years of record performance following the forced pause caused by the pandemic, the pace of Swiss watch exports slowed in January, according to the Swiss Watchmaking Federation.
Still up 3.1% in value to 1.9 billion Swiss francs ($2.1 billion), and +2.9% in volume (with 32,000 watches exported), the situation is by no means catastrophic. In fact, the situation had been anticipated by the Federation, which had announced in its 2023 report that it expected a slight “slowdown in 2024”, linked to the “gloomy economic context” and the “particularly high level of the franc“, which was likely to “weigh on results, particularly in the entry- and mid-range segments”.
Luxury watches still buoyant
In fact, Swiss watch exports were buoyed by sales (+4.3%) of luxury timepieces with factory gate prices in excess of 3,000 Swiss francs ($3,419).
To continue reading this article, create a free account or log in.
Create your free account
- Every day, keep up to date with the latest business news from the world of luxury.
- Receive the essential luxury business news by email every week
- Exclusive monitoring tools
- Access our partner trade fairs
I create my account
Don’t miss out on the latest luxury business news.
Read also > MIAMI WATCH WEEK: LVMH BRINGS TOGETHER THE FINEST WATCHES FROM ITS HOUSES
Featured Photo: © Rolex
