Various price points

Rising luxury watch sales outside London help GB market return to significant growth in September

Volume market continues its dramatic decline, but value of watches priced at over £1000 is growing at double digit rate.

Growth in the value of watch sales in London was outpaced by the rest of Great Britain in September for a second consecutive month.

London growth evaporated in August, with a dip of -.9% but returned to year on year growth in September of 3.1%.

The rest of Great Britain, excluding London, saw the value of sales rise by 8.4% in September, its fastest growth rate since May 2017, according to the latest point of sale analysis by GfK.

The seemingly endless decline in the value of sales for watches costing under £500 continued into September, with an annual drop of 14%. The sub£500 market has not registered year-on-year growth in any month since November 2016.

Online watch sales no longer compensate for a shrinking market at brick and mortar stores. In September, online sales for watches at all price points declined by -3.2%. Online sales for the past 12 months are now down -2.7% compared to the same period in 2016-17.

 

London v gb

 

Online sales

 

All price points

 

In his quarterly report for WatchPro, Paul Mitchell, senior client insight director at GfK says: “The past five years have seen the British watch market transformed. In 2013, watches sold for more than £1000 accounted for just under half the market. Last year that had risen to two-thirds. At the same time watches costing under £500, which was 45% of all sales in 2013 now account for just 30%. In his latest quarterly report on the state of the watch market, Paul Mitchell, senior client insight director at retail analyst GfK, updates the market on the latest statistics.”

 

 

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