Even before the coronavirus outbreak began to weigh on the global economy, the luxury watch industry was struggling. Last year, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FHS) reported growth of just 2.4 per cent, a modest increase that masked a steep decline in volumes (down by 13.1 per cent year on year) and a drop in exports in the past quarter.
Then came Covid-19 and in March, the closure of watch factories and their global retail network. The sector, which is reliant on store sales — only 5 per cent of new watch sales are online — has been hit hard.
“We experienced a complete stop of production and deliveries,” says François-Henry Bennahmias, chief executive of Audemars Piguet, which last year reported record revenues of SFr1.25bn ($1.28bn). “Let’s say we sell 40,000 watches a year, which means around 3,200 a month or 120 watches a day. Until the end of March we’ve managed to keep that number to 80 to 90 a day. But April has been a completely different story. Now we are facing the real challenge.”