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Swiss Watch Exports -2% in February
Mar 19, 2015 6:09 AM
By Deena Taylor
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RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports fell 2 percent year on year to $1.7 billion (CHF 1.689 billion) in February, according to the Federation of Swiss Watches. The group stated that the decrease was largely due to a sharp decline in exports to Hong Kong, coupled with a dip in demand for precious metal timepieces. Exports by volume rose 2.6 percent to 2.189 million units.
The federation explained that watch exports priced below $201 (CHF 200) grew 9.2 percent by value and 6.2 percent by volume. The segment was the only price point that experienced growth during the month. All timepieces priced over $201 (CHF 200) saw a roughly 4 percent decline in terms of both value and volume.
Exports of precious metal timepieces declined during the month, too, with gold watch exports down by 6.1 percent, while steel watch exports fell by 2.8 percent.
The federation noted that exports to Hong Kong, one of the three leading export markets for Swiss watches, saw the steepest decline in two years and fell 21.8 percent to $276.9 million (CHF 274.6 million). Swiss watch exports to the U.S. rose 7.5 percent to $195.9 million (CHF 194.4 million), while exports to China increased 7 percent to $109.2 million (CHF 108.3 million). The European markets of Italy and the U.K reported sustained growth with exports to Italy up 17.6 percent to $98.9 million (CHF 98.1 million) and exports to the U.K. up 54.2 percent to $96.6 million (CHF 95.9 million).
During the first two months of the year, Swiss watch exports increased 1 percent to $3.368 billion (CHF 3.338 billion).
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Tags:
Deena Taylor, Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Swiss watches, watches
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