If you buy a "Swiss-made" watch thinking it’s almost entirely produced in Switzerland, you might be mistaken. The manufacture of components including dials, sapphire glass and cases is flourishing in China, Thailand and Mauritius and many of these end up in watches designated as "Swiss-made".
Stricter rules came into force last year for watches bearing the coveted label on their dial and for which consumers are prepared to pay a premium.
Swiss watch exports to Singapore surged 90 per cent in September from a year ago, making the island Republic the biggest importer of luxury timepieces that month – after Hong Kong and the United States.
Shipments to Singapore jumped from 94.5 million Swiss francs (S$130.41 million) in September 2016 to CHF 179.2 million last month, figures released by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry show.
Swatch Group on Friday painted a brighter outlook for rest of the year as the world’s largest watchmaker said conditions for Swiss timepieces in China and Europe were improving.
The swiss watchmaker said it expected "very positive growth in local currency" for the rest of 2017 after net profit rose 7.2% in the first six months of the year.
Swiss watch exports resumed a losing streak in April, hurt by weakness in the key markets of Hong Kong and the U.S. and weighed down by fewer working days.
Exports slipped 5.7 percent to 1.53 billion francs ($1.57 billion), the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Tuesday. For the first four months of the year, the variation is -3.6%. Analysts said shipments gained when adjusted for three fewer working days in April 2017, with Citigroup estimating a 10 percent gain. Exane BNP Paribas said shipments probably were up 7 percent to 8 percent, taking that into account.
Richemont reported worse-than-expected results shortly before Friday’s open as the Geneva-based company said a volatile trading environment had caused its net profits to slip more than anticipated. However, the world’s second-largest luxury goods group noted an uptick in sales growth towards the end of its fiscal year, in large part attributable to easier comparisons and support from a sustainable recovery in mainland China, Reuters reported.
Sales at Richemont fell 4 percent at constant exchange rates in the year to March, missing expectations in a Reuters poll of analysts, but with a clear improvement in the second half thanks to a recovery in the United States and strong growth in China.
Tag Heuer has followed its first Connected smartwatch with a new model that features a unique twist. The Swiss watchmaker is back with a new and highly-customizable model: the TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45, based on an Intel chip. Unlike the original Connected though, just about every part of the Modular 45 can be swapped, from the straps, to the buckles, and lugs, and even the watch module itself. That’s right, you can change the electronic module with a mechanical watch module, which not only gives you extra customization options, but it ensures that your expensive watch won’t become obsolete in just a few years.
Rolex, the luxury Swiss watchmaker, is the brand with the best corporate reputation in the eyes of consumers, according to a new global survey.
Reputation Institute (RI), a reputation management consultancy, each year compiles a list of the top 100 most reputable companies in the world based on more than 170,000 ratings collected across 15 countries.
Using its proprietary RepTrak measurement system, RI tracks consumers’ perceptions across seven key areas: products and services, innovation, workplace, governance, citizenship, leadership and performance.
Switzerland’s trade surplus increased in January as imports declined sharply from the previous month, the Federal Customs Administration reported Tuesday. The trade surplus rose to CHF 4.7 billion in January from CHF 2.7 billion in December.
Month-on-month, exports slid 4% m/m in real terms, after surging to a record level in December (+9.7% m/m). At the same time, imports slid 5.3% versus a 0.6% fall in the previous month.
