Status: 01/24/2023 2:19 p.m
Swiss watches are known and valued around the world and are now also proving to be crisis-proof: Despite the general slump in consumption due to inflation and the Ukraine war, there was a sales record last year.
With exports worth 24.8 billion francs, the Swiss watch industry set a sales record last year. This was announced by the Association of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH).
The sales correspond to an increase of 11.4 percent compared to 2021. Compared to the first Corona year 2020, the revenues were even increased by 46.1 percent. Almost three years ago, travel collapsed during the first lockdowns and many shops were closed for a long time.
Growth despite weak business in China
Swiss-made watches, many of them in the expensive luxury segment, were sold primarily in the USA and China. In the past few months, the Chinese market has still suffered from restrictions caused by the pandemic in the important sales market. After the easing for a few weeks, the association has noticed an increasing mood for consumption here as well.
However, Swiss watches are in demand in the rest of Asia, with double-digit growth rates in Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. Germany is in seventh place in the sales ranking of the Swiss watch industry. At the same time, the association has also been fighting counterfeit watches for years, especially from China. Up to three million are confiscated each year, but experts say this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Cheap and expensive sell particularly well
Sales also varied by price region last year. currency in the price range between 200 and 500 francs (equivalent to 200 to 500 euros) a sales decline of 24 percent was recorded, the sales figures for products below 200 francs rose by almost six percent.
Watches in the more expensive segments, however, again ensured good business: the price range between 500 and 3000 francs increased by five percent. Luxury chronometers from 3,000 francs even sold 15.6 percent better.
Swatch grows thanks to “Moonswatch”
One of the largest Swiss manufacturers of watches in different price segments has now announced its sales figures for the past year: The Swatch Group with brands such as Swatch, Omega and Glashütte Original increased its sales to 7.5 billion Swiss francs. This is an increase of 2.5 percent. Adjusted for currency effects, sales even grew by 4.6 percent.
The Moonswatch range launched nine months ago has become a bestseller at Swatch. More than a million pieces have been sold. At Swatch, sales in China also fell by a good 700 million francs due to the lockdown. In January, however, things started to pick up again: “The sales increases in China in January further reinforce the group’s expectation that 2023 can be a record year,” the company said.