Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Swatch Group Reports Sales Down 14.3% for the First Half of 2024
The Group sales are impacted by the industry’s challenging situation in China and South East Asia.
At CHF 3,445 million, the sales of the Swatch Group, the Swiss powerhouse owner of Omega, Longines or Tissot, are down 14.3% at constant exchange rates and 10.7% at constant rates. The declining sales strongly impact the operating profit at CHF 204 million against CHF 686 million for the previous year. Swatch Group advises that the decline in sales was triggered by the sharp drop in demand for luxury goods in Greater China. The Swatch brand is the only one in the group to see its sales increase in China.
After reaching records in 2023, the overall luxury market is facing a slowdown, and so is the Swatch Group following a record year in 2023. As seen over the past months, the watch industry faces the same challenges. In particular, the Chinese market is under pressure with a weak local demand caused by economic uncertainties. China’s economy grew much slower than expected in the second quarter with declining consumer confidence. According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, the global Swiss watch exports are down 2.5% over the first 5 months of 2024 with -18.2% for China and -19.2% for Hong Kong, the second and third markets for the Swiss watch industry.
Swatch Group notes that its sales outside of China are at the level of the record year 2023 in local currencies. The sales of luxury brands Breguet, Blancpain and Omega were particularly affected by the challenging market environment while Tissot and Longines maintained strong positions. The demand for Swatch x Omega and Swatch x Blancpain collaborations remained solid.
If the situation should remain challenging for China and South East Asia, Swatch Group expects a strong improvement over the second part of the year. The results of the cost-cutting program will positively impact the result.
For more details and to access the full report, please visit www.swatchgroup.com.
1 response
“If the situation should remain challenging for China and South East Asia, Swatch Group expects a strong improvement over the second part of the year.” Sounds quite contradictory and how? The answer seems to be “by cost cutting.” If so, the future really doesn’t look any more promising from the customer’s perspective.