Swiss watch exports tick up to record level in 2021

ZURICH: Swiss watch exports rebounded sharply in 2021, breaking the record set in 2014 by rising to nearly 22.3 billion Swiss francs ($24.1 billion, €21.5 billion), the industry federation announced on Thursday.

Amid a strong recovery in the luxury sector, watch exports were up 2.7 per cent compared to their pre-pandemic level in 2019, and were also up 0.2 per cent compared to the 2014 peak, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said in a statement.

Exports were up 31.2 per cent compared to 2020, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security in a separate statement said.

Feeling the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, Swiss watch exports plunged in April and May 2020 in the face of the tourism freeze and store closures. They ended the year down 21.8 per cent.

The only good news was in China, where sales shifted to local boutiques.

But watch exports rebounded in 2021, first to the United States and then to the Gulf countries.

Swiss watch exports to the United States rose by 54.9 per cent last year compared to 2020, according to the industry federation.

They also increased by 23.9 per cent to China; 36.5 per cent to Singapore and 31.2 per cent to the United Arab Emirates.

However, exports were still below their pre-pandemic levels in historically-important export markets such as Hong Kong, Japan, Britain and France.

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