Swiss watch exports to the UK are up almost 12% since the start of the year, but retail sales have been slowing for the last three months, according to GfK data.
Sales dropped by 1.5%, year-on-year, in July, having fallen by 7% in May and 14% in June.
It means stock levels are likely to be rising in the UK following the red hot first quarter when retail sales rose by around 50% over the same period in 2021 — a time when the country was emerging from its second hard lock down.
The UK market was top-heavy for a year from March 2021 with watches priced at over £10,000 distorting overall figures, and increasing average transaction values for watches.
That ultra-luxury momentum has been running out of steam since the end of March this year.
For July, sales of watches priced at over £10,000 were down, year-on-year by 3.1%, the third monthly drop in that price category.
Growth in retail sales in London and the rest of Great Britain have been broadly in lock step for the past 18 months, although sales in the capital have grown slightly faster in the past three months.
Online sales have taken an interesting upturn, registering 8.5% growth in July.
