Luxury retailer Watches of Switzerland Group reported a 15 percent jump in US sales for the first half of the year on Thursday, boosted by strong demand for high-end timepieces in its core market.
The global luxury goods market is expected to grow 3–5 percent next year, driven by strong US momentum and improving trends in China, Bain & Company said in November.
Watches of Switzerland, which sells Rolex, TAG Heuer and Audemars Piguet brands, counts US as its key driver, accounting for almost 60 percent of total profitability.
While US threatened to slap goods from Switzerland with 39 percent tariffs, a mid-November trade deal cut that to 15 percent. The US is Switzerland’s top foreign watch market, accounting for almost 17 percent of exports, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.
The company said it welcomes the reduced levies, but saw no significant change in consumer behaviour following the introduction of the initial tariffs.
In September, the company said that brand partners’ inventory buildup ahead of tariffs shielded it from any impact in the first half of the year.
Watches of Switzerland’s US sales rose to £409 million ($545.52 million) in the six months to Oct. 26, from last year’s £355 million.
Shares of the firm rose as much as 3.8 percent to 494 pence, but reversed course to fall marginally by 09:34 GMT.
By Yamini Kalia and Simone Lobo; Editor: Harikrishnan Nair
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