The recovery for Swiss watch exports continues. The April data according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (Fh) “confirm the return to normality that began in March”. The leap in exports of Swiss timepieces in the month was very significant compared to a year earlier (+ 446.1%), but precisely because it was recorded in an exceptional period, the Federation prefers to take the same month of 2019 as a basis for comparison: for April 2020 there were extensive lockdowns around the world due to the pandemic, with an unusual drop (-81.3%) also for Swiss watch exports.
Comparison with the pre-virus year
The export of April of this year, equal to 1.79 billion francs (1.64 billion euros), is therefore compared with that of two years earlier (pre-virus), compared to which it marks an increase of 2 %. Looking at the first four months of 2021 as a whole, exports of Red Cross watches amounted to 6.86 billion francs (6.27 billion euros), only 0.4% less than in the same period of 2019, given that it also confirms, according to the Federation, the return to normal levels. As for the main markets, China and the United States are the main drivers again; some of the major European markets, including Italy, have not yet recovered the levels prior to Covid.
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The top ten of the markets
This is the trend in April, again in relation to the same month of 2019: United States + 14.6%, China + 75%, Hong Kong -24.8%, Japan -11.7%, Singapore + 1.7%, United Kingdom + 1.4%, Germany -11.2%, United Arab Emirates + 22.9%, Italy -17.6%, South Korea -23.1%. France (-28.5%) is in eleventh place. In the month it was Swiss watches high-end, those with a price above 3 thousand francs, to drag exports, with an increase that in the segment was 10.1%. The medium-high range, with prices between 500 and 3 thousand francs, recorded a decline. The medium (200-500 francs) and basic (under 200 francs) ranges recorded more substantial contractions.
For the four months January-April 2021, this is the trend of the ten major markets, compared to the same period in 2019: China + 72.2%, United States + 20.5%, Hong Kong -29%, Japan – 8.5%, Singapore + 4.6%, United Kingdom -23%, United Arab Emirates -4.2%, Germany -10%, France -10.7%, Italy -15.6%.
The Swiss pole is a thermometer of prospects
The Swiss watch center accounts for over 50% of the sector’s worldwide turnover and exports over 90% of its production. The data on the export of Swiss timepieces are therefore expected by many operators in the sector, as an important thermometer on the situation and prospects. After the positive sign in March and April, the spotlight is now on May and June, two months that the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry directly indicates as “decisive for the confirmation of the trend”.