Improving demand for luxury watches, particularly in developing markets such as Asia-Pacific also augurs well for the future of this market.Īs stated by the new research report on watches and clocks, Europe remains the largest regional market for watches and clocks. Innovative models, fashionable designs and competitively priced products are expected to drive demand for watches and clocks in the short to medium term period. Also, with worst of recession left behind and resurgence in growth fundamentals highly evident, such as improvement in income levels, higher discretionary spends, and greater consumer confidence, there is a spring in stride for global watches and clocks market, as evident by the improvement in dollar sales during early 2011. However, given that the consumers search for a sturdy value proposition is a common thread that runs through all market segments, expensive watches featuring bold and innovative themes continued to find buyers despite difficult economic conditions, while classic watches found demand as collector’s items. Robust sales of mass-priced watches, including fashionable plastic watches stand testimony to the recession induced change in consumer perspective over purchase of watches and clocks. In contrast, mass-priced watches fared relatively better than the expensive versions during recession. Luxury watches costing between US$1000-US$5000 lost their sheen during 2009, especially in mature markets such as US and Europe as consumers found it difficult to justify big spending. Watches costing over US$200 especially came under the yoke of recession, as consumers traded down to lower price points, opting for products that offer value-added features and capabilities at competitive prices. Exports from Hong Kong and China also fell by around 19.8%. Swiss exports, a benchmark for the worldwide watch market fell noticeably in 2009. The watch industry witnessed the steepest decline in 2009 in terms of exports and revenue generation. Slowdown in global economy, unpredictable business climate, reduction in household wealth, crumbling consumer confidence, and frugal discretionary spending patterns, have all resulted in erosion in sales of watches and clocks, and thereby the market’s value during the period. The recent world economic recession has taken its toll on the global watches and clocks market, forcing substantial decline in dollar sales during 20.
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