Swiss Watch Industry Export Statistics - May 2020

Continuing on last months rough results of -81% growth, the Swiss watch industry saw more declines in watch exports as luxury goods take a backseat in consumers spend. In May, Swiss watch exports saw a decline of -68%. Watch exports were valued at CHF 656 million which was around CHF 300 million more than last month.

The 12 month moving average continued to plummet as it rapidly approached the -15% mark. The contraction is the continued repercussions of the closures of watch manufactures and slow economies that were extremely vital during this pandemic.

Similarly to last month, the declines were not isolated to one specific watch metal. Across the board, steel to gold watches saw declines from between 68% and 77%. This widespread decline can also be seen in the breakdown of price segments where no matter how expensive, exports fell both in value and price.

The top 6 main markets for last months results, account for just over 50% of exports, saw massive declines across the board. Last month, China’s export figures were only down around 16%, but their negative results this month seem to be in line with the rest of the world.

June Predictions

This month, global economies have slowly opened up and shutdown measures have relaxed. While some countries have managed the pandemic well, others saw increasing rates in the month of June. It is going to take some time to get people comfortable again to shop in stores. Furthermore, luxury goods are really not on peoples minds when it comes to their spending. We are expecting a contraction of around 40% for Swiss watch exports for the month of June. With many people unemployed, it may take a while before we get positive news out of Switzerland.

Enjoy!