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Things are looking up for the Swiss watchmaking industry<\/strong><\/b>…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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to the Swiss Watchmaking Federation, despite the continuing difficulties of the Chinese market<\/strong><\/b>, July saw a return to slight growth (+1.6%<\/strong><\/b> to 2.2 billion Swiss francs ($2.9 billion). ), after the decline observed in the first half of 2024.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In volume<\/strong><\/b> terms, however, sales were stable (+0.1%).<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And the decline over the first seven monthswas<\/strong><\/b> still 2.4% in value<\/strong><\/b>, to 15.2 billion francs ($17.9 billion).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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<\/strong><\/b> for the sixth consecutive month. Exports to mainland China actually fell by 32.8%<\/strong><\/b> to 175.8 million Swiss francs, while those to Hong Kong, the <\/strong><\/b>Swiss watchmaker’s fourth-largest customer, dropped by 19.1%<\/strong><\/b> to 147.3 million Swiss francs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fortunately, other important markets partially offset these underperformances. The United States bought 11.3% more watches<\/strong><\/b> for 382.2 million Swiss francs, while Japan soared by 25.6%<\/strong><\/b> to 187.1 million Swiss francs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Other countries were more keen on \u201cSwiss made\u201d timepieces. These included France (+13.7%), South Korea (+14.1%), Taiwan (+25.3%) and Saudi Arabia (+24.8%).<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This did not prevent a few minor slippages, notably in Singapore, the sixth market (-1.9%<\/strong><\/b> to 128 million Swiss francs) and Germany (-0.6%).<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Finally, the United Kingdom, Swiss Watchmaking’s fifth market,<\/strong><\/b> grew modestly (+0.9%<\/strong><\/b>) to 146.8 million Swiss francs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Overwhelmed by mainland China and Hong Kong, the top six markets declined by 3.7%<\/strong><\/b> to 1.16 billion Swiss francs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In terms of segments, the categories at the \u201cextremes\u201d<\/strong><\/b> fared best.<\/strong><\/b> The most affordable watches, those under 200 Swiss francs<\/strong><\/b>, were the most dynamic (+13.7% in value)<\/strong><\/b>, while those over 3,000 francs also fared very well (+5.4%).<\/strong><\/b> This compensated for the sharp drop (-14.4%) in sales of mid-priced timepieces (200 to 3,000 francs)<\/strong><\/b>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Swiss watchmakers will have to keep a particularly close eye on the economic situation in China<\/strong><\/b> 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,<\/strong><\/b> the Middle Kingdom published a series of unsatisfactory indicators<\/strong><\/b>, despite recent government measures to revitalize consumption in general.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nUS and Japanese markets compensate for sluggish China<\/h2>\n\n
More dynamism in accessible and high-end segments<\/h2>\n
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