Hong Kong weighs on Swiss watchmaking
Swiss watch exports recorded a negative result in November, because of the sharp decline in Hong Kong, while the rest of the world remained broadly stable. At almost 2 billion Swiss francs, exports were down 3.5% compared with November 2018. Value increased by +2.0% over the first eleven months of the year. The fall was attributable to steel and precious metal watches. At the same time, the total number of items continued to decline in November (-355,000 items). Watches with an export price below 3,000 francs saw a double-digit decline in both value and the number of items (-11.5% and -17.6% respectively). Products priced over 3,000 francs remained stable in volume terms, with a slight increase in value (+2.0%). The various markets for Swiss watches covered the full spectrum of variations, from one extreme to the other. In terms of sharp falls, Hong Kong (-26.7%, following a -29.7% decline in October) had a significant impact on overall performance. The United Kingdom (-17.3%), France (-17.4%) and the United Arab Emirates (-27.8%) also pulled the figures down.