Chinese fans of Swiss watchmaking are consolidating their reputation as the world's top luxury watch consumers, and if they're not the ones driving the Swiss industry's growth, they'll certainly keep it from going under.
That's what the data on Swiss watch exports from August has shown. According to this data, 8 out of 30 key markets remained in the black. An upward trend was observed at the end of summer in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and most importantly China.
China, which is the biggest consumer, increased purchases by 44.9%, and continued the quarterly trend. This is a hopeful sign against the background of a 4% fall among US consumers and a 16.4% drop in Hong Kong. European sales plummeted by 20.5% in August, and overall sales in Asia fell by 7.2%.
According to the latest forecast from Boston Consulting Group, China's economy is the only consumer economy set to grow this year out of all the world's largest economies. While the US and Europe are ranting and raving about the threat of a new wave of coronavirus leading to another full lockdown, with infection rates are on the rise, Chinese consumers are on a shopping spree purchasing premium goods. Analysts from Boston Consulting Group expect Chinese spending on luxury goods to jump 30% this year.
All the signs of recovery are visible. Although luxury spending took a nosedive in the first quarter, both worldwide and in China, Chinese sales rose 15% in the second quarter, while overall performance indicators fell by 65%. The third quarter confirmed this trend, with spending up 35% in China, while sales are down 15% worldwide.
China's purchasing power is now being monetized. Some of those who are capitalizing are watchmakers. The Watches & Wonders exhibition held this September in Shanghai offered more than just a physical space to showcase new pieces, although holding an exhibition is still an achievement in and of itself, considering how many of Europe's main exhibitions have been called off.
A special online version of the exhibition was held on Tmall's Luxury Pavilion platform. The online presale period was launched on September 1, and then between September 12-13, all the watches could be purchased in premium stores hosted on the Alibaba Group's B2C e-commerce platform.
The Watches & Wonders event in Sanya is another sign that the Swiss are eager to cash in wherever there is money to be made, which will get underway at the end of September. The exhibition will be held as part of a program to promote the resort island of Hainan as a duty-free destination.