Surprise increase in Switzerland watch exports
Watch exports in Switzerland experienced a surprise increase in April, as demand for luxury watches revived in the USA and Japan. Turkey’s watch imports from Switzerland reached 100 million dollars in the January-April period.
Sales rose 4.5 percent to 2.1 billion Swiss francs ($2.3 billion) in April, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said on Thursday.
The increase followed a sharp decline in the previous month. The figures were supported by the 11.6 percent increase in exports to the USA, the largest market for Swiss watches, which reversed the decline experienced in March. The surprise rise comes at a time when global demand for Swiss watches, which experienced an unprecedented boom in 2021 after the end of pandemic lockdowns, has plummeted.
On the other hand, while shipments to Japan increased by 13.6 percent, demand from China remained stagnant in April and exports to the second largest market of Swiss watches decreased by 7.5 percent.
Vontobel Analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy said the monthly data was “surprisingly strong” and pointed out that luxury brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Cartier performed well. “Other brands, especially those in the lower segments, are still in reset mode after an extreme post-Covid period,” Bertschy said. said.