TLTP
\nBERN
\nProduction of watch brands has come to a standstill during the pandemic and the most important export markets collapsed.
\nWhether tourists with purchasing power will return to Switzerland remains in question. The watch industry has been \u201ccaught in the perfect storm\u201d.
\nLuxury brands are the exception. They have weathered the storm far better than the rest. Audemars Piguet, Rolex, Patek Philippe or Richard Mille belong to families or foundations that do not focus on driving sales. On the contrary, these luxury brands control their production in a targeted manner, artificially creating shortages in the market. The result: waiting lists for the most sought-after models and buyers who pay steep surcharges to get their dream watch immediately.
\n\u201cEven in the coronavirus era, these prices have hardly fallen at all,\u201d Ren\u00e9 Weber, an analyst at Bank Vontobel said. \u201cOn platforms such as Chronext, an unworn Rolex Daytona also cost well over CHF20,000 ($21,000) in the last few weeks instead of CHF12,500.\u201d
\nOther brands are paying the price of unrest in key market Hong Kong in addition to the economic consequences of the pandemic. Exports to Hong Kong collapsed after the outbreak of civil protests in August 2019. In 2020, the pandemic ground production to a halt for several months. Consumer sentiment collapsed and with it global exports. The tourists who typically go home with a Swiss-made watch have yet to show up.
\n\u201cOf the approximately 600 watch brands, 50 to 100 will have difficulty surviving this crisis,\u201d estimates Weber. Particularly at risk are smaller, independent brands that do not belong to the luxury groups Swatch Group, Richemont or LVMH. The analyst expects watch exports to shrink by 30% in 2020. For sales in Switzerland, he forecasts a 40-50% decline.
\nThe struggles of the Swiss watch makers are reflected in the watches retail sector. Big players such as Bucherer, G\u00fcbelin or Kirchhofer are on solid footing. \u201cThey have many good years behind them in which to build up reserves,\u201d says Weber.
\nBut the future looks bleak for smaller boutiques who rely on the hordes of tourists that descend on picturesque lake towns of Lucerne and Interlaken every year.
\n\u201cThe small, independent retailers are already suffering from the fact that they can no longer represent the most sought-after brands at all and that they have no online sales channel, and now their clientele is also breaking away,\u201d points out the analyst. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TLTP BERN Production of watch brands has come to a standstill during the pandemic and the most important export markets collapsed. Whether tourists with purchasing power will return to Switzerland remains in question. The watch industry has been \u201ccaught in the perfect storm\u201d. Luxury brands are the exception. They have weathered the storm far better […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n