2023 ended on a high for Swiss watch exports, which achieved 5.5% growth in December. This was the highest increase for the second half of the year, which grew by 3.6% on average. For the year as a whole, the sector recorded an increase of 7.6% compared with the already high level achieved in 2022, with a final result of 26.7 billion francs.
December was a particularly strong month for bimetallic watches, which saw a 21.8% rise in value and a 28.5% increase in volume. Export turnover was also driven by products made from precious metals (+8.9%). The Other materials category continued to support the number of items exported, with a monthly increase of 6.1%. As a result, the year ended with an increase in volumes of 7.2% (+1.1 million items compared with 2022), to 16.9 million.
Both ends of the price range saw a strong increase in December, with watches priced below 200 francs (export price) increasing by +12.8% and those priced at over 3,000 francs by +9.2%. Between the two, the 200-3,000 francs segment shrank by 9.0%.
Performance in the main markets was uneven compared with December 2022. The United States (+11.6%) performed better than expected, along with Hong Kong (+15.2%), Japan (+26.8%) and the United Arab Emirates (+11.8%), which rose to fifth place. In second place, China (+1.7%) recorded modest growth, despite a low basis for comparison. The United Kingdom (-12.1%) saw the sharpest drop, while Singapore (-7.4%), Germany (-2.3%) and South Korea (-3.0%) were relatively less affected.
|Source: Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry
|Image Credit: Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry website
丨Reporter: Jiang jingjin
|Editor: LeZhi
