Swiss watches, thanks to the US moderate export downturn

Swiss watch exports limited the damage in November. The expected downturn did arrive, but its size is on the whole limited, only slightly higher than in the previous month. The barrier was once again the US market, the only one of the top ten to register a positive sign again. The major markets in Asia (China and Hong Kong in particular) and Europe ended the month with a negative sign. Among the smaller markets there were a good number of positive signs.

In November, Swiss watch exports amounted to CHF 2.40 billion (EUR 2.58 billion at current exchange rates), 3.8% less than a year earlier. In October the decline had been 2.2%, in September 12.4%. For the entire period from January to November 2024, exports of Swiss timepieces amounted to CHF 23.93 billion (EUR 25.73 billion), 2.7% less than in the same period of 2023. After a strong expansion in past years, Swiss exports are suffering from both the international economic slowdown and the strength of the franc, which makes Swiss products more expensive. According to many industry analysts, the goal of the Swiss watch industry however should now be to contain the decline to 2-3% for the whole of 2024.

This is the performance of the ten largest markets in November: the United States 420 million francs (+4%), Japan 171 million (-2%), Hong Kong 170 million (-18%), United Kingdom 169 million (-8%), China 151 million (-27%), Singapore 149 million (-6%), United Arab Emirates 117 million (-4%), Germany 115 million (-11%), France 114 million (-2%); Italy, which maintains its tenth place, recorded 101 million (-2%). Outside the top ten, the figures for South Korea (eleventh with 79 million, +21%), Spain (twelfth with 54 million, +33%) and India (seventeenth with 31 million, +59%), among others, stand out.