Exports slumped within the second quarter. In consequence, on the midway mark, 2019 is notable for what the FH describes as “marked disparities between markets, worth segments, and key gamers.”
Of the highest 30 markets that account for 93% of Swiss watch gross sales, 16 joined Hong Kong in reporting export declines. Then again, a number of prime markets turned in sturdy first-half performances. Quantity 5 UK led the best way at +26.three%. (Brexit didn’t occur, after all, and is now rescheduled for Oct. 31.) It was adopted by #four Japan (+21.Eight%); #three China (+13.5%); and #6 Singapore (+12.Eight%).
The FH went out of its solution to reward Switzerland’s second largest market, the U.S., which it mentioned “continued to carry out properly and represented a powerful core of development for the Swiss watchmaking sector.” Exports to the U.S. rose 7.1%, on prime of an Eight.2% bounce for all of 2018.
But, conventional top-10 watch markets in Europe (Germany -2.zero%; France -5.7%; and Italy -Eight.2%) continued to wrestle.
