Figures released by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry show a “marked recovery” in watch exports in July, “following a first half of the year that was practically identical to the period before the COVID-19 crisis.”
Exports of Swiss watches rose 29.1% compared to July 2019 figures, “driven almost exclusively by very strong performance in China”, the Federation said. There was an increase of 7.6% compared with July 2020.
The Federation noted “very strong growth” in the US (+48.5% compared with 2019), making it the leading market in July. The rise was “probably buoyed by domestic consumption of some items that would have been purchased abroad before the crisis.”
China continued to “perform strongly” (+ 75% compared with 2019) while other main Asian markets, such as Hong Kong (-24.8%), Japan (-4.1%) and Singapore (-3.4%) declined. The United Kingdom (+12.4%), France (+10.2%) and Germany (+5%) returned to growth, while Italy (-24.2%) “fell back sharply after a strong month in June.”
