Luxury watch sales woe spreads to UK
Swiss watch exports to the UK dropped 2.5% in May, joining the trend in Europe for a slowdown in luxury sales.
New data from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry showed total exports fell 9.7% compared to last year, to 1.6 billion francs (£1.1 billion).
Over the first five months of the year, the level was lower than that of 2012.
In Britain last month, the value of exports dropped compared to 3.7% growth in April.
Other countries which saw declines included Italy and France.
“The slowdown in Europe reflects the ongoing aftermath of the Paris and Brussels attacks, in the form of a slower tourist flow in Europe, and perhaps concerns that Chinese are buying less in Europe based on taxes imposed on them when they return to home,” said Alessandro Migliorini, an analyst at Mirabaud Securities, Bloomberg reported.
Elsewhere watch exports to Hong Kong continued to fall- down 16.8%. The luxury goods market there has been battered by a crackdown on extravagant gift giving.
The arrival of the Apple Watch and rival smart watches on the way, are among factors that have affected sales in the traditional watch market.
