Swiss Watch Exports Declined 11% Last Month

Swiss Watch exports have experienced a second straight month of double-digit decline as the industry slowdown has widened.

Exports have fallen for the past 10 months including in places such as Hong Kong, the world’s biggest market for high-end Swiss timepieces.

Who’s to blame? It’s hard to say. But it’s interesting to see this big decline happening while the Apple Watch continues to see some early success, with estimates suggesting Apple has sold over 12 million units in just over 12 months.

The trend of Swiss watch exports remained sharply negative in April. Their value was down 11.1% compared to April 2015, at 1.6 billion francs. Over the first four months of the year, the downturn stands at -9.5%.

Remember, it was only a few months ago that pundits and watch makers scoffed at the idea that Apple might actually effect their sales. Today, whether it be a coincidence or not, it does seem like something is effecting people’s willingness to spend more than $3,000 on a high-end Swiss Watch.

While it may still be early days, I still believe that in the long run the Apple Watch will have a profound impact on the watch industry as a whole. As the Watch becomes more capable, it’s only going to make the case for wearing a mechanical watch even harder.

Let’s see where the industry is another year from now. My gut feeling is that it won’t be any better.