GENEVA: Swiss watch exports dropped last month, bringing the industry’s slump close to a full year as it faced plunging demand across Asia and Europe. Shipments fell 9.7 percent to 1.56 million Swiss francs (US$1.62 million), the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said in a statement yesterday.
Exports have declined for the past 11 months and had back-to-back monthly double-digit declines in March and April. Swiss watchmakers have been struggling with a wider slowdown in demand for timepieces across all of Switzerland’s main markets so far this year.
Hublot and Zenith, owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, have decided not to open any additional stores in Hong Kong amid a market that is “more adapted for closing stores rather than opening stores,” watch chief Jean-Claude Biver said on Monday last week.
