Falling pound

Brexit uncertainty hits June imports of Swiss watches to the UK

Exports of Swiss watches to the UK fell by 26.1% fall in June as uncertainty over the EU referendum caused retailers and wholesalers to delay purchasing decisions.

The subsequent 10% fall in the value of the pound against the Swiss franc has made imports more expensive for UK stockists.

On the flip side, retailers could benefit from sales to tourists that are enjoying fantastic deals when they calculate UK prices into their own currencies.

Swiss watchmakers exported goods to the UK worth CHF 90.5 million in June, down from CHF 122.5 million during the same month in 2015, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry monthly tracker.

The UK remains the seventh biggest export market for Swiss makers in 2016, with total sales from the start of the year totalling CHF 530 million. This represents a 5.4% decline over the first six months of 2015, making the UK one of the best (or least-bad) performers among the world’s largest watch markets.

World-wide, experts of Swiss watches were down 10.6% in the first half of the year, with Hong Kong suffering the steepest decline of 26.7%.

Japan and the UAE were the only markets in the top 10 to register rising sales.

World distribution of swiss watch exports (june 2016)

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