The ritzy watchmakers’ booths in Geneva, erected for the annual SIHH, have only been freshly packed away when the latest statistics arrived to provide a spot of good tidings — however minimal — for Swiss watch brands.
Results released on January 29 by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH), headquartered in Biel, less than 200 kilometers from Geneva, showed the export value of Switzerland-made timepieces grew 2.7% in 2017 when compared against the 12 months of 2016. Official data put export values last year at 19.9 billion Swiss francs, slightly missing the industry’s full-year target of 20 billion francs.
The 2017 figure marginally topped the 2016 total of 19.4 billion francs but is still below the 21.5 billion francs reached by Swiss watch export values in 2015.
FH only releases the values of exported watches, and not the values generated from the sales of these watches. The figures represent the combined values of electronic and mechanical wristwatches, as well as movements.
The value of exported goods by Swiss watchmakers started to climb in 2010, when it logged 16.2 billion francs, and peaked in 2014, when it reached a record 22.2 billion francs, FH data revealed.
The group noted results for December last year registered “only weak growth” at slightly less than 1.7 billion francs. December’s total followed a 2017 high of nearly 2.0 billion francs in November, and over 1.8 billion francs in October.
While 30 markets accounted for 92% of the total value of Swiss watch exports in 2017, Asian economies led in pulling up revenues, according to the latest FH statistics. Hong Kong topped the list as it took in 2.5 billion francs in exports, 6% more than in 2016. But the figure is a full 20.6% below the 3.18 billion francs the territory secured in 2015.
Similarly, Singapore also registered growth in 2017, acquiring 1.1 billion in Swiss watch exports, or 8.5% more than it did in 2016. However, this is still 2.6% lower than its purchases in 2015. In terms of value Singapore was the seventh-largest destination last year for Swiss watches.
China, the third-biggest market for Swiss watches last year, maintained its momentum by raking in nearly 19% higher values last year compared to 2016, and 15% more than in 2015. Still, the country spent almost a billion francs less than what Hong Kong did last year, with export values placed at 1.54 billion francs.
Swiss watch exports to South Korea, at 11th on the list, also rose 5.6% in 2017 compared against 2016, amounting to 699 million francs — which is also 9.6% more than the country’s take in 2015.
The values of Swiss watch exports to Japan was nearly flat last year at 1.23 billion francs compared to 1.26 billion francs in 2016. This is a 5.8% dip to export values in 2015.
Switzerland’s second-biggest destination for its watches, the United States, generated 4.4% less value in 2017 compared against 2016. Its total reached only 2.05 billion francs last year, which is 13% under the 2.36-billion-franc result the country managed in 2015.
In Europe, only the United Kingdom provided relief as its Swiss watch exports last year increased 7.0% in value from 2016, reaching 1.3 billion Swiss francs. The amount represents a double-digit growth over the country’s total in 2015.
In contrast, Swiss watch exports to Italy remained flat last year with a value of 1.18 billion francs, and were marginally down in Germany and France, which secured values of 1.08 billion francs and 982 million francs, respectively, in 2017. The last country in the top 10 list, UAE, saw a similar decline in value of 891 million francs over the same period.
