Steep Drop in Sales at Swatch Group
July 17, 24
(IDEX Online) - Swatch Group, the Swiss company that numbers Breuguet, Harry Winston, Blancpain, Tissot, Longines and Omega among its luxury brands, has reported a steep drop in sales during the six months to 30 June.
It said the decline of 14.3 per cent against the previous year, at current exchange rates, had been triggered by the sharp drop in demand for luxury goods in China.
Net sales for the six months (year-on-year) fell from $4.49bn (CHF 4.019bn) to $3.85bn (CHF 3.445bn).
Despite the poor performance in China generally, the Swatch brand itself bucked the negative trend and increased sales by 10 per cent.
"The huge reduction in demand for luxury goods in China (including Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR) and in the Southeast Asian markets, which are heavily dependent on Chinese tourists, had a considerable negative impact on sales and results due to the strong presence of the Group's brands in the region," the company said in its Half-Year Report 2024.
Swatch, the world's biggest watch seller said it expects Chinese market (including Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR) to remain challenging for the entire luxury goods industry until the end of the year.
But it predicts further strong growth in Japan and the USA in the second half of 2024, and says its Omega brand will benefit from a global media presence as the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games in Paris.