Asian buyers’ penchant for luxury timepieces fuelled Swiss watch exports in 2017, with Hong Kong and mainland China leading the growth, latest data from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH revealed.
Shipments to Hong Kong reached US$2.7 billion (CHF2.52 billion), up 6 percent from 2016 while exports to mainland China rose 19 percent to US$1.64 billion (CHF1.53 billion). The US market dropped 4.4 percent.
Total exports reached US$21.33 billion (CHF19.92 billion) in 2017, a year-on-year improvement of 2.7 percent. Luxury watch shipments increased by 0.7 percent in December.
December figures also showed that Hong Kong and mainland China recorded improvements of 11.8 percent and 12.3 percent respectively. “The main Asian markets generally saw steep increases in the final months of the year. The US still seems to be in the doldrums and posted the steepest fall since May,” the federation said.
It added that sales of watches priced at less than US$535 (CHF500) declined in December while products falling within the US$535 to US$3,214 (CHF500 to CHF3,000) price range made significant gains. Sales of top-end, expensive timepieces remained flat, said the federation.
News Source: jewellerynewsasia.com
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