Swiss Watch Imports grow 10.8%

Imports of Swiss Made watches to Australia in December increased by +12.6% to bring the total annual imports figure A$161 million for the year, up +10.8% when compared with 2008.

Sales in 2008 were static compared to 2007, so this is a fantastic result amid the backdrop of the global financial crisis and an especially strong result when you consider luxury watches, and men’s watches in particular, are widely accepted to be one of the most demand-elastic retail purchases.

The news is actually even better for luxury watch brands in Australia and the rest of the Oceania region because the number of units shipped to the region actually dropped by -22.7% yet the total value increased by +11.5%.

The flight to quality and spending on smaller luxuries is the simplistic answer although there are many forces at work, particularly as retailers have continued to maintain tighter stock controls than in the luxury boom years of 2004-2008.

Australia was one of only three countries to increase imports and sales of swiss watches for 2009 (South Korea +35.7%, Australia +10.8% and Portugal +2.4%) with the majority of markets facing strong negative growth resulting in a -22.3% drop in total world-wide exports for the swiss watch industry when compared to 2008.

Hong Kong remains the world’s largest watch by far, due to the low tax regime for visiting Chinese consumers, with USA and France taking 2nd and 3rd places. Australia is rising up the rankings, moving from 19th to 17th in world sales league terms but with a long way to go to catch up on per capita spend levels. Italy, for example, has an import value of A$16.08 per capita and the UK A$9.50 whereas Australia per capita import value is currently just A$7.33.

All the major brands had a good Christmas trading season and are forecasting quietly confident single digit growth estimates for 2010, a year of steady recovery which will be helped by the banks paying large bonuses again. The Australian market will continue to grow strongly on the back of the global recover but also because the collective marketing and PR of the top brands is enticing new consumers into the luxury segment.

Source: All figures sourced from FHS: Federation of the Swiss Watch industry December report.