Swiss watch exports began to grow slightly again in July, despite the sharp decline in the Chinese and Hong Kong markets, according to data released by the watch federation. Last month, in fact, exports of Swiss timepieces reached 2,2 billion Swiss francs (2,3 billion euros), up 1,6% compared to last year.
Still regarding the top ten markets, these are the figures for the entire January-July period: United States 2,5 billion francs (+4%), China 1,2 billion (-23%), Hong Kong 1,15 billion (-19%), Japan 1,14 billion (+10%), United Kingdom 974 million (-1%), Singapore 966 million (+0,2%), France 784 million (+5% ), Germany 766 million (-4%), United Arab Emirates 734 million (+1%), Italy 611 million (-4%). Apart from the dramatic declines in China and Hong Kong, the rest of the major markets more or less confirm their positions, some with further increases and others with slight declines. However, the figures for the first seven months of 2024 also show the main driving positions in this phase of the United States on the Western front and Japan on the Eastern front.
In July, exports of watches from one part of the high range and the other from the basic range did well. The intermediate segments, however, recorded strong declines. These are the data: for timepieces with a price above 3 thousand francs, an increase in value of 5%; for products with a price of 500-3 thousand francs a decrease of 13% and for those with a price of 200-500 francs a decrease of 23%; for watches priced under 200 francs, however, a marked increase of 13%.
