Swiss watch exports rebounded in August 2024, with a 6.9% year-on-year increase compared to the same month in 2023.
July exports were also slightly up, which chipped away at the impact of a negative first half to the year. For the year-to-date, Swiss watch exports are down a mere 1.4%, and that is against an all-time record 2023.
An uptick in exports, and what appears to be broader resilience for Swiss watch demand, might be viewed with relief by manufacturers.
That would be a troublingly false read of what is happening on the street because activity, not just for pricey watches but for almost everything, is struggling in Europe and Asia.
Even in the more robust United States, Luxury Watch Barometer, which gathers point of sale retail and inventory data from across the country, reported year-on-year monthly sales falls of between -5% and -15% in the first half of 2024.
There are troubling indicators almost everywhere data analysts are looking.
The secondary market, for example, is awash with heavily discounted watches. Inventories are piling up and prices are still declining, which has an impact on sales of new watches through authorized dealers.
There are good reasons why not everybody, probably not even a majority, of watch customers would choose to buy from the grey market, but everybody studies the data and will be discouraged from buying new from an authorized dealer when an identical watch is being offered online for 25% less.
Inventory on the secondary market has been rising for the past year, and this rise could accelerate if manufacturers keep pushing too much product into the global channel, as this year’s Swiss watch export figures suggest.
That will put further downward pressure on grey market prices, making it even tougher for authorised dealers to sell new.
August 2024 Swiss Watch Exports
Wristwatches
- Units Sold: 1.2 million (-9.5%)
- Value: 1,871.0 million CHF (+7.8%)
Total Exports
- Value: 1,950.0 million CHF (+6.9%)
Performance by Material
- Precious Metal: 30,600 units (+3.7%), 743.3 million CHF (+21.2%)
- Steel: 615,000 units (-10.5%), 601.9 million CHF (-7.0%)
- Gold-Steel: 87,600 units (+2.6%), 346.8 million CHF (+12.7%)
- Other Metals: 90,000 units (-10.2%), 115.4 million CHF (+11.4%)
- Other Materials: 364,200 units (-11.2%), 63.6 million CHF (-1.5%)
Key Markets
- USA: 320.0 million CHF (+7.6%), 16.4% share
- China: 179.1 million CHF (-5.9%), 9.2% share
- Japan: 143.2 million CHF (+14.4%), 7.3% share
- United Kingdom: 141.8 million CHF (+3.5%), 7.3% share
- Hong Kong: 132.4 million CHF (-11.1%), 6.8% share
- Singapore: 124.7 million CHF (+9.3%), 6.4% share
- Total for Top 6 Markets: 1,041.2 million CHF (+2.8%), 53.4% share
Price Category Analysis
Growth was primarily driven by high-end watches priced over 3,000 francs, which saw a 14.9% increase in value.
In contrast, watches priced below this threshold experienced declines both in value (-14.4%) and in the number of items sold (-11.3%).
Market Trends
Several markets showed significant growth, including the United States (+7.6%), Japan (+14.4%), Singapore (+9.3%), the United Arab Emirates (+26.9%), Italy (+17.6%), and South Korea (+14.2%).
However, the United Kingdom (+3.5%), Germany (+2.9%), and France (+0.7%) saw more modest increases.
Exports to China (-5.9%) and Hong Kong (-11.1%) continued to decline, although the rate of decrease has slowed compared to previous months.