Swiss Watch Exports up 14% to $2.56bn in May
June 20, 23
(IDEX Online) - Swiss watch exports surged during May, up 14.4 per cent year-on-year to $2.56bn, driven in part by a huge increase in Chinese sales.
That follows a more modest increase in April of 6.8 per cent, according to figures published today by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.
China, the second biggest market for Swiss watches, saw sales up by over 158 per cent (an increase of over two-and-a-half times) as Covid lockdowns ended and tourists returned.
Overall exports for the first five months of 2023 - a total of $12.1bn - were 11.3 per cent above those for the same period in 2022.
Foreign sales to the US rose by 9.8 per cent during May and by 19.2 per cent in Hong Kong.
"All regions contributed to the overall growth, despite a few markets recording a moderate decline in May," said the federation. "Nonetheless, the five-month trend remains very positive across the board."
"The United States quickly overcame the decline in April and returned to robust growth. China continued to benefit from a strong base effect, increasing by 2.5 times, though still fell short of the position it had reached before the Shanghai lockdown (-10.1 per cent compared with May 2021)."