The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry has released sales figures for September 2017, rejoicing in the “the sixth monthly rise this year”. Swiss watch sales totaled $1.82 billion (CHF 1.8 billion) – a 3.7% rise year-on-year. According to the Federation, “The trend over a twelve months period therefore shows a continuing recovery with positive variations expected again in the near future”.
Watches priced at less than 200 francs dropped in sales by 18.5% year-on-year. Timepieces priced at between 200 and 3000 francs reported “slight growth” and those costing over 3000 francs saw an 8% gain.
Sales in Hong Kong grew 13.7%, while the downward trend continued in the US. Value of watch exports to Singapore almost doubled (+89.6%) “because of the delivery of highly priced watches”. Exports to the UK and China remained flat (+0.7% and +1.2% respectively). Japan “failed to confirm the August growth figure and lost ground again (-15.6%)”.
