Time is not the money it used to be, as Swiss watch exports slump
Zurich — Shares in watchmakers Swatch and Richemont fell on Tuesday after a decline in Swiss watch exports accelerated in October. "A recovery had been expected in the fourth quarter, but watch industry exports in fact reported their steepest fall of the year in October," the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said in a statement. Exports of Swiss timepieces were down 16.4% in nominal terms in October, their steepest fall this year, dragged down by shipments of precious metal watches that have fallen out of favour with Chinese shoppers since the Chinese government took antigraft measures. Shares in Swatch, the world’s biggest watchmaker, dropped 3.5% by 8.24am GMT, while Richemont, which can rely on jewellery sales to cushion the effect of sluggish watch sales, fell 2%. On the JSE, Richemont was off about 4% to trade at about R89 at midday. The European personal and household goods index was up 0.1%. "We remain concerned about the Swiss watch industry’s negative sales trends in ...
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