If falling prices on the secondary market are a sign of trouble to come at the primary end of the watch business, there is no evidence of the correlation in the latest quarterly report from Richemont.
Prices soared for some of the hottest unicorn watches up until the end of March, but have since seen a sharp correction.
That cooling has not reached Richemont’s watch maisons, labeled Specialist Watchmakers by the group, which sailed through the three months to the end of June (Richemont’s Q1) with sales up 10%, year on year, at fixed currency rates and an even healthier 18% once the weakness of the euro in the quarter is factored in.
There is a positive base effect in some parts of the world as well, particularly in Europe and Japan where Richemont sales were up 42% and 83%, respectively, in comparison to the same April to June quarter when much of the world was still living under covid restrictions.
Those covid restrictions continue in large parts of Asia Pacific, most notably China and Hong Kong, which explains why sales in the region fell by 15% year on year.
Group sales for the quarter came in at €5.3 billion, up from €4.4 billion in 2021.
Specialist Watchmakers generated revenue of €1 billion, up from €849 million last year.
In relation to watches, Richemont reports that: “Growth was achieved in most Maisons and regions with an ongoing out-performance of A. Lange & Söhne, Panerai and Vacheron Constantin”.
