According to the latest statistics from the Swiss Watchmaking Federation, worldwide sales of Swiss timepieces rose slightly in value terms in July. But they are still down over the first seven months of 2024.
Things are looking up for the Swiss watchmaking industry…but its worldwide exports have not yet returned to the historic level of 2023, at 26.7 billion Swiss francs ($3.15 billion). And this after three years of post-Covid euphoria.
According to the Swiss Watchmaking Federation, despite the continuing difficulties of the Chinese market, July saw a return to slight growth (+1.6% to 2.2 billion Swiss francs ($2.9 billion). ), after the decline observed in the first half of 2024.
In volume terms, however, sales were stable (+0.1%).
And the decline over the first seven monthswas still 2.4% in value, to 15.2 billion francs ($17.9 billion).
US and Japanese markets compensate for sluggish China
In terms of destinations, the Middle Kingdom, the third-largest market for Swiss watches after the USA and Japan, continues to pull the statistics down for the sixth consecutive month. Exports to mainland China actually fell by 32.8% to 175.8 million Swiss francs, while those to Hong Kong, the Swiss watchmaker’s fourth-largest customer, dropped by 19.1% to 147.3 million Swiss francs.
Fortunately, other important markets partially offset these underperformances. The United States bought 11.3% more watches for 382.2 million Swiss francs, while Japan soared by 25.6% to 187.1 million Swiss francs.
Other countries were more keen on “Swiss made” timepieces. These included France (+13.7%), South Korea (+14.1%), Taiwan (+25.3%) and Saudi Arabia (+24.8%).
This did not prevent a few minor slippages, notably in Singapore, the sixth market (-1.9% to 128 million Swiss francs) and Germany (-0.6%).
Finally, the United Kingdom, Swiss Watchmaking’s fifth market, grew modestly (+0.9%) to 146.8 million Swiss francs.
Overwhelmed by mainland China and Hong Kong, the top six markets declined by 3.7% to 1.16 billion Swiss francs.
More dynamism in accessible and high-end segments
In terms of segments, the categories at the “extremes” fared best. The most affordable watches, those under 200 Swiss francs, were the most dynamic (+13.7% in value), while those over 3,000 francs also fared very well (+5.4%). This compensated for the sharp drop (-14.4%) in sales of mid-priced timepieces (200 to 3,000 francs).
Swiss watchmakers will have to keep a particularly close eye on the economic situation in China in the weeks and months ahead… However, the latest statistics published do not show any improvement in the situation – on the contrary. In mid-August, the Middle Kingdom published a series of unsatisfactory indicators, despite recent government measures to revitalize consumption in general.
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