Brian Duffy, Switzerland’s prime watch presenter, described final yr’s Christmas buying and selling interval as essentially the most troublesome to foretell in his many a long time on the helm of luxurious retail.
Knowledge from retail analyst GfK reveals how uneven the season was: after a stormy first half of 2023, a lot of the summer time and fall noticed year-on-year declines.
The most important fall was in November, with the worth of all watch gross sales within the UK falling by 14% year-on-year. Nevertheless, there was a late rebound in December with a 3% improve.
The highest finish of the watch market drove general UK business development in 2023, driving up common transaction values, whereas the sub-£500 market continued its decade-long decline.
For watches priced over £10,000, gross sales rose 18% in December, and for watches priced between £5,000 and £10,000, gross sales additionally rose 3%.
All different worth segments fell in December, with watches within the £1,000 to £3,000 vary ending an especially difficult yr with an extra annual decline.
For many of 2023, there was little distinction between watch gross sales development in London and the remainder of the UK, however the capital loved a late restoration, with gross sales up 14% in December.
The remainder of the UK noticed a fall of 8% within the Christmas month.
For the primary time since Might, development in UK watch gross sales was exceeded by development in Swiss watch exports to the nation.
The next graphic doesn’t present absolute numbers, however somewhat annual development per thirty days. Nevertheless, any extended interval the place exports to the UK are rising quicker than retail gross sales will lead to stock build-up on the wholesale or retail degree.
