Swiss exports are on the rise for the second month in a row for the month in April, mainly fueled by strong demand for luxury watches in Asia. The receptive market in Asia has buffered the gradual depreciation of the Swiss franc.
The appetite for Swiss Watches in Asia, especially China, has boosted the luxury goods industry and the results of sales are providing confidence in the economy to a certain degree.
"Again China and Hong Kong are the growth drivers. The watch makers are a Chinese story," said John Cox, an analyst at Kepler Capital Markets in an interview with Reuters.
Information released this week from the Swiss Watch Federation also showed that watch exports rose 11.5 percent in nominal terms from a year earlier.
"The data confirm the trend in exports continues to be strong. The strong Swiss franc only plays a relatively moderate role in this. Much more important is the economic recovery abroad," said Credit Suisse economist Fabian Heller, according to Reuters.
Also, the demand for luxury watches in India has also been on the rise. Swiss luxury brand TAG Heuer is forecasting that the country will rank in one of the top five markets for luxury watches by 2015.
The growth is still moderate at the moment, with India contributing less than 5 percent of TAG’s revenues, but the predicted growth should double by 2015.
“The present luxury watch market in India can be compared with that of Chinese market 10 years back,” Jean-Christophe Babin, president and CEO of TAG Heuer, said in a statement. “Today China along with Hong Kong is our third largest market.
