Time and Tide Watches

Australian Watch Authority

  • Home
  • Shop
  • Reviews
  • Watch Fairs
    • Baselworld 2019
    • SIHH 2019
    • Baselworld 2018
    • SIHH 2018
    • Baselworld 2017
    • SIHH 2017
  • Club
  • Partners

14.05.2020
Nick Kenyon

Coronavirus projected to wipe out 60 ‘Swiss Made’ watch brands, while downturn surpasses Quartz Crisis and GFC

Coronavirus has surpassed all previous crisis’ in terms of its negative impact on the Swiss watchmaking industry, with a 25 per cent downturn anticipated for 2020, according to a report by Bank Vontobel. This is worse than the Quartz Crisis, which saw a 15 per cent decline, and the 22 per cent downturn in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, notes this article in Watchpro. 

“In terms of volumes, we’re going to fall back to levels seen in 1945, with probably fewer than 16 million watches sold,” said Oliver Müller, the founder of watch industry consulting firm LuxeConsult, in an interview with swissinfo.ch. 

He went further, saying there would be businesses within the industry that would not survive the crisis. “Between 30 and 60 ‘Swiss Made’ watch brands – of a total 350 – will not survive,” said Müller. “A dozen watchmaking companies have already filed for bankruptcy since the beginning of the crisis.” 

This paints a grim picture as the Rolex factories and offices remain closed, with Patek Philippe returning to work only recently, and other groups operating in a severely limited capacity. While most, if not all, of the larger brands will survive with their cash reserves, the attention turns to the smaller and independent part of the industry, some of whom are less well placed to weather this storm. 

Most concerning of all is the future of the micro brands who sell small volumes of more affordably priced watches. The segment between CHF500 and CHF3000 has been in decline since 2017, in part thought to be due to the growth in popularity of smart watches during that period. 

Looking back at the Quartz Crisis of the 1970s, there is one comparative silver lining drawn to the current situation. As a result of such a massive industry contraction, brands were forced to innovate with new designs and materials to regrow their client bases. While the Coronavirus Crisis is a global crisis, and not confined to the watch industry, we can hope that in this crisis the watch industry adapts and is reborn stronger, in the same way it has always done in the past. 

Graeme Goldman, the former Managing Director of Swatch Group (Australia) and former CEO of Lion Brands, has another silver lining to add: “I remember being Managing Director of Swatch Group when September 11 happened. Retailers started pausing and cancelling orders and things fell off a cliff for two to three weeks. But then business went crazy over Christmas and we ended up doing exceptionally well for the year. The attitude from a lot of people was, ‘Mate, I could be dead tomorrow!’ So they ended up buying a new watch.”

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin
Email
181 Shares

BECOME A SUBSCRIBER

Don't miss any of the action! Join the community to get access to our weekly news round-up, behind the scenes stories, and entrance into exclusive competitions.


SIGN UP NOW
BRANDS
A
A. Lange & Sohne
Aegir Instruments
Akrivia
Alpina
Angelus
Apple
Aquadive
Archimede
Audemars Piguet
Australian Brands
Autodromo
B
Ball Watch Co
Bamford Watch Department
Baume et Mercier
Bausele
Bell & Ross
Blancpain
Breguet
Breitling
Bremont
Briston
Bulgari
Bulova
C
Cartier
Casio
Chanel
Chopard
Christopher Ward
Corum
Creux Automatiq
CT Scuderia
Cvstos
D
Dan Henry
Dior
Doxa
E
Edox
Erroyl
Eterna
F
Farer
Filson
Franck Muller
Frederique Constant
G
Gavox
Girard-Perregaux
Glashütte Original
Glycine
Gorilla
Grand Seiko
Gucci
H
H. Moser & Cie.
Haigh & Hastings
Halios
Hermes
Hublot
HYT
I
Ianos
IWC
J
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaquet Droz
L
Linde Werdelin
Longines
Louis Vuitton
Luminox
M
Martenero
Maurice Lacroix
MB&F - Maximilian Büsser & Friends
Melbourne Watch Company
Mido
Ming
Monta
Montblanc
N
Nodus
Nomos
O
Oak & Oscar
Omega
Oris
P
Panerai
Parmigiani Fleurier
Patek Philippe
Perrelet
Piaget
R
Rado
Ralph Lauren
Raymond Weil
Ressence
Richard Mille
Roger Dubuis
Rolex
S
Seals
Seiko
Sevenfriday
Sinn
Spinnaker
Stowa
Swatch
T
TAG Heuer
Tangramatic
Tiffany & Co
Tissot
Tudor
U
Ulysse Nardin
Undone
Unimatic
Urwerk
V
Vacheron Constantin
Van Cleef & Arpels
Victorinox
Z
Zenith
Zodiac
  • Company
  • The Team
  • Contact
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Refund and Exchange Policy
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

The original content on Time and Tide Watches is copyright protected. Please email us before re-posting our content elsewhere. When sharing our images on Pinterest or Instagram please use the credit ‘via Time+Tide' THANK  YOU

TIME+TIDE | MELBOURNE | AUSTRALIA | INFO@TIMEANDTIDEWATCHES.COM

© COPYRIGHT 2019 TIME+TIDE

  • Home
  • Shop
  • Subscribe Now!
  • Reviews
  • Video
  • Club
  • Partners
This site uses cookies as outlined in our cookie policy. Find out more.