Swiss watches have less appeal, exports down by 2.8%. All the fault of China

Swiss exports of watches counted by 2.8% in 2024, reaching 25.9 billion Swiss francs (27.4 billion euros), due to a drop of over 25% in China. After touching a new record last year, exports continued to decrease month after month, with “an intensification of the contraction in December”, as reported by the Federation of the Swiss watch industry. In the last month of the year, sales dropped by 5.4%, reaching 2 billion francs. The luxury sector was affected by a drop in demand in China with the slowdown of economic growth, the real estate crisis and youth unemployment.

In 2024 exports to China decreased by 25.8% and those towards Hong Kong by 18.7%, while in the United States, where the recovery of the sector began in 2021 after the pandemic shock, they continued to grow by registering an increase of 5% per year. In Europe, sales recorded a more contrasting evolution, with a drop of 1.6% in the United Kingdom and Italy and 3.8% in Germany. In France, however, growth was 2.5%. The Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch Group has announced a strong drop in annual results, caused “by the strong decline in the demand for consumer goods in China,” he said in a note. The group, known for multicolored plastic watches but also owner of about fifteen brands (including Tissot, Longines and Omega) saw its sales drop by 14.6% last year.