An Overview of the State of the Swiss Watch Business in 2021
The first reports for performance in 2021 are out and make for interesting reading. The numbers tell intriguing stories?
The post An Overview of the State of the Swiss Watch Business in 2021 appeared first on LUXUO.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona. Image: Rolex
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) reports that 2021 was a record year for the trade, with Swiss watchmakers registering CHF22.3 billion in export value, which is a new record. This record was established in 2014 on the back of CHF22.25 billion worth of exports; the FH bases its reports on the export value of the watches, not sales to end customers.
While this may seem like astonishingly good news, and we will break it down to some key performance notes from some groups and independents, it masks some key facts. Chief amongst this is the continued downward trend in terms of volume, with only 15.7 million timepieces exported. This is a decline of 4.9 million compared with 2019, and is largely due to a massive drop in the export of watches under CHF500. Unusually, the largest watchmaking group of all, the Swatch Group reported growth (versus 2020) in all segments, high and low, although this may be due to higher sales in the above CHF500 category within the various brands.
Image: Tissot
READ MORE: Interview: Tissot CEO Sylvain Dolla
The FH report highlights our own concern about under-realised potential in all categories of watches under CHF3,000. To look at something specifi...
The post An Overview of the State of the Swiss Watch Business in 2021 appeared first on LUXUO.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona. Image: Rolex
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) reports that 2021 was a record year for the trade, with Swiss watchmakers registering CHF22.3 billion in export value, which is a new record. This record was established in 2014 on the back of CHF22.25 billion worth of exports; the FH bases its reports on the export value of the watches, not sales to end customers.
While this may seem like astonishingly good news, and we will break it down to some key performance notes from some groups and independents, it masks some key facts. Chief amongst this is the continued downward trend in terms of volume, with only 15.7 million timepieces exported. This is a decline of 4.9 million compared with 2019, and is largely due to a massive drop in the export of watches under CHF500. Unusually, the largest watchmaking group of all, the Swatch Group reported growth (versus 2020) in all segments, high and low, although this may be due to higher sales in the above CHF500 category within the various brands.
Image: Tissot
READ MORE: Interview: Tissot CEO Sylvain Dolla
The FH report highlights our own concern about under-realised potential in all categories of watches under CHF3,000. To look at something specifi...
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