Nick hayek getty

Swatch Group holds firm as Richemont cuts jobs

Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek has said that the company has no plans to cut jobs to protect its margins.

His declaration came a few days after luxury goods group Richemont, which has brands like Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre in its portfolio, announced that it would be cutting up to 350 jobs in Switzerland.

Richemont confirmed the imminent cuts on Monday, when it confirmed a Swiss newspaper report which cited an internal memo that stated that the company would be cutting up to 4% of its Swiss workforce because of tough market conditions and the strength of the Swiss franc.

Swatch Group showed that it’s not all doom and gloom when Hayek also revealed that his company saw strong sales in its Omega and Tissot brands during the recent Chinese New Year, albeit this was tempered by the fact that demand was slower for its higher-end brands.

“The four day-period of the Chinese New Year went very well for Longines, Tissot, Omega this year versus the same period last year,” said Hayek. “The high-end segment was a bit more difficult.”

He confirmed that Swatch Group’s growth in local currency for the year is over 5%, specifying that consumption in 80-85% of the group’s markets was positive.

“January is looking good in mainland China, that is confirmed,” Hayek concluded.

 

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