PARIS – Winter is much from over for Swiss watches because the market continued to chill in February.
Exports within the month contracted by 8.2 % in worth and seven.7 % in quantity to 1.98 billion Swiss francs, in response to figures launched by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Trade on Thursday.
The trade group mentioned it was a “marked slowdown in an unsure local weather,” affecting its high six markets and all materials classes to numerous levels.
Month-to-month export tallies had seen a slight enchancment in January, however February’s poor efficiency amounted to an general decline of two.4 % within the first two months of 2025.
The U.S. continued to guide as the highest marketplace for Swiss timepieces. However the recorded 6.7 % year-on-year decline in February eroded the positive factors of the previous two years for the nation.
American shoppers’ confidence has fall in current months, in response to surveys by the The College of Michigan Surveys of Customers as households cautiously really feel their manner round inflation and rapidly-evolving financial insurance policies.
However February’s downturn in Swiss watch exports additionally affected most high markets, with Japan slipping again to sixth place attributable to a 19 % tumble. Again in second and third place, Hong Kong and China continued on their downward pattern, dropping 12.5 and 25 % respectively.
The month’s downturn affected all supplies to various levels in quantity with 102,000 fewer watches have been exported general within the month. The “Different Metals” class was most affected in quantity, contracting by almost 1 / 4 whereas “Different Supplies” skilled a really modest 0.7 % enhance.
By value phase, all segments declined in quantity, with the five hundred to three,000 Swiss francs vary slumping essentially the most at 19.7 %. In the meantime in worth, solely entry-level watches, at 200 Swiss francs at export value, grew in February.
