Publicly listed Watches of Switzerland’s most recent financial report says that demand for luxury watches is still rising, although the strongest growth is coming from the United States rather than the UK.
That shows the enduring strength of Rolex, which has accounted for almost half its sales over recent years, and the impact of rolling out new monobrand showrooms for the likes of Omega, TAG Heuer and Breitling.
That goes some way to accounting for why Swiss watch exports for the UK are up by 21.7% for the 11 months from January to November this year, according to figures collated by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH).
But retail sales have been softening since the summer, according to data from analyst GfK.
| Jan-22 | Feb-22 | Mar-22 | Apr-22 | May-22 | Jun-22 | Jul-22 | Aug-22 | Sep-22 | Oct-22 | Nov-22 | |
| UK Sales Growth (GfK) | 52% | 42% | 57% | 7% | -7% | -14% | -2% | 1% | -1% | -2% | -1% |
| Swiss export growth to UK (FH) | 26% | 25% | 55% | 21% | 37% | 29% | 12% | 10% | 18% | 4% | 18% |
After dramatic growth in the first quarter of this year, due in part to comparisons with 2021 when the country was still enduring covid restrictions, the UK market cooled and the last six months have seen sales broadly flat in comparison to a year earlier.
The combination of softer sales and continuously strong imports of Swiss watches should mean stock levels rising with UK wholesalers and retailers.
