Swiss watch exports down 9.3% in July

Swiss watch exports decreased by 9.3% in July compared with the same month a year earlier, according to new figures from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH).

Watch exports in Switzerland were valued at 1.9bn Francs (£1.26bn) during the month, with the federation citing the Asian markets, which reported a 21.4% decline in exports, as the largest factor in the decline.

Steel watches in particular fell substantially, in terms of both value and number of pieces sold, as units exported fell 10.7% and value decreased by 13.8%. Bi-metallic timepieces also fell significantly, while precious metal watches reported 12.3% less exports but price only declined by 3.7%.

There was a sustained rise in the ‘other metals’ category, with exports up 19.9% and value up 8.2%, but this was by no means sufficient to offset the losses, FH said.

All price segments experienced declines during the month, with watches costing less than 200 francs (£132) suffering the least – volumes were down by just 2%.

The 200 to 500 francs (£132 – £331) category was the worse affected, down 14.5%, while the value of watches above 500 francs (£331) fell by 8% and the number of pieces sold was down 10%.

Meanwhile, demand from the eight leading Asian markets was down, with the fall in China particularly strong at 39.6%. Exports to the United Arab Emirates and South Korea were down 29.8% and 19.7%, respectively.

Despite this, demand in the USA (4.7%) and Europe continued to grow, led by France which reported a 53.4% increase in exports.