The Paradox of Growth: Swiss Watch Industry Thrives While Sales Volumes Decline
Exploring the global market for swiss-made watches and collectors' trends
According to the report of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FHS), in 2022 the world purchased Swiss watches worth a record 24,8 billion francs (at export prices), representing an increase of 11.4% over the previous year's overall result. Although in terms of earnings this can be judged as an excellent result, at the same time it hides something else. In the FHS analysis, volumes in 2022 increased by 0.3% despite improved distribution conditions compared to 2021. This figure actually confirms a clear trend for the Swiss industry: sales volumes are rapidly declining. In 2019, before the pandemic, export volumes reached 20,6 million, and even further back, in 2015 volumes were 28,1 million. In iust seven years, the Swiss watch industry has lost more than 12 million units, equal to 45%. This results in an apparent contradiction: the Swiss watch industry is actually growing by shrinking.
In 2022, the growth was driven by the United States, which replicated the performance of 2021 and recorded export growth of 26.3%, approaching 4 billion francs in total. Europe also weighed heavily on the final result, with three countries in the top ten largest exportmarkets; particularly UK, Germany, and France, for which exports increased by an average of +21.4%. The results of western markets offset another year of declines for mainland China (-13.6% in 2022) and Hong Kong (-10.5%), which in any case continue to occupy second and third place in the ranking of the largest markets for Swiss watch exports.
According to the latest report released by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry on March performance, exports increased 13.8% in value to 2,4 billion Swiss francs ($2.7 billion) thanks to a boom in demand in Hong Kong, where orders rose nearly 62%. The industry exported about 300,000 more watches in one month, up 24% from March 2022, totaling more than 1,5 million units. While there are signs of cooling demand in the rest of the world, the reopening of Chinese territory is strengthening the global market for Swiss-made watches. In fact, export growth to the United States slowed to a 7.8% increase in March after jumping nearly 16% in February.
Despite its slow reopening from pandemic restrictions, Hong Kong is proving to be one of the most important hubs currently for the luxury watch market. Chrono24 has released its first collectors' report based on data from more than 1,3 million users and the more than 3,7 million watches they have collectively registered through the site's Watch Collection tool. The results show the size, value and returns of collections in various international markets. Collections tracked through Chrono24's service, which together are worth more than $49,7 billion, have increased in value by an average of 31% since the date of purchase. The platform currentlv tracks onlv 7% of the total market value, estimated to be worth $748 billion. Comparing the average values of international collections, the top six positions in the ranking are occupied by Asian nations. The average values of collections in Hong Kong (77,600 euros), Japan (64,200 euros), the United Arab Emirates (63,600 euros), Singapore (58,600 euros) and Malaysia (47,800 euros) are well above the global average (38,800 euros). The most expensive collections in Europe come from the home of watches, Switzerland, where enthusiasts own watches worth 45,000 euros.
The report also shows which brands are performing the best. Rolex is the most collected, nearly half (47.6%) of the watches in Italy registered on Chrono24 are Rolex, followed by Japan (39.2%), Hong Kong (38.5%) and Switzerland (34.6%). Omega is the second most collected brand in most countries, especially in Europe. Patek Philippe rappresents a substantial share of collections, particularly in China, Hong Kong, and Japan.
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