Foreign sales of Swiss watches slowed in April, as China was hit by Covid lockdowns.
Total export revenue was just under $2bn, its lowest since August 2021, according to figures released by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. That’s up 7.3 per cent on April 2021.
Sales to the US, by far the biggest single market, was up 37 per cent to $335m.
But exports to second-placed Hong Kong fell 21.1 per cent to $155m and sales to mainland China plunged by almost 58 per cent.
Watches priced at under CHF 500 ($520) fared worst (down almost 28 per cent by value) while those over CHF 3,000 ($3,120) performed well (up 11.5 per cent).
The federation said in its monthly update: “China (-57.8%) saw a sharp decline in April, in response to the combination of a very negative base effect and the consequences of the country’s zero-Covid policy. Hong Kong (-21.1%) also contributed to the contraction seen in Asia (-6.0%), while Japan (+18.2%) and Singapore (+29.7%) moved in the opposite direction.”
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