The Swiss watch industry recorded an upturn in exports in June, which had collapsed in April.
“The initial shock has passed and the expected recovery has timidly started,” underlines the Federation of the Watch Industry.
KEYSTONE
Swiss watch exports slowed down in June compared to the previous two months. They suggest the start of the expected recovery, said the Federation of the Watch Industry (FH) in its monthly statistics on Tuesday.
Shipments of Swiss timepieces abroad amounted to 1.1 billion francs in June, a decrease of 35% on an annual basis. In May, they had fallen by 67.9% and in April they had even collapsed by 81.3%.
“Although very pronounced, the decline posted in June indicates that the initial shock has passed and that the expected recovery has timidly started, even if it is only due to China for the moment,” said the organization in its press release.
The first victim of the pandemic and therefore the first candidate for the recovery, China stood out with a very strong increase in demand for Swiss watches (+ 48% over one year).
The other main outlets all fell sharply, with in particular -55% for Hong Kong, -57% for the United States or -45% for the United Kingdom, while Germany (-21%) and Singapore (-26%) did a little better than average.
Strong decline in the first half of the year
Over the first six months of the year, Swiss watch exports fell 35.7% to 6.87 billion francs.
Among the main outlets, mainland China, which absorbed 11.5% of all Swiss watch exports, showed the best resistance in the first half, with a decline limited to 15%.
The first foreign market, the United States suffered a decline of 31% while in Hong Kong, sales fell by 53%, the market being doubly affected by the health crisis and political tensions.
In Europe, watch sales suffered from the drop in international tourism, both in the United Kingdom (-45%), Germany (-32%), France and Italy (each -43%).
All price segments were affected by the drop. The 200-500 francs range (export price) was the most affected and halved. Watches over 3,000 francs, which represent over 70% of the total value, performed slightly better than average, with a decline of 32.7%.
For the year as a whole, the FH expects a 30% drop in watch exports.
(ATS / NXP)
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