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Patek Philippe sales in 2020 down by 20% is not any kind of big deal Patek Philippe sales in 2020 down by 20% is not any kind of big deal

Patek Philippe sales in 2020 down by 20% is not any kind of big deal

Thor Svaboe

Yessir, the cone of silence surrounding the manufacture of Patek Philippe has lifted twice in a week. The brand are surfing atop of a media wave of their own making. Only last week we reported first on the discontinuation of the already near-impossible to get Nautilus ref. 5711, and in our story here we shared the discreet and wild speculation surrounding a possible 6711 replacement

Picture copyright New York Times

Now Watchpro reports Patek Philippe sales slumped by 20% in 2020. “2020 was not our best year, but it was okay,” is the leading quote of the story. This is hardly surprising, and probably a better than expected outcome, considering the brand shut down completely for two entire months. The Swiss watch industry at large fared considerably worse, as we reported in our story on a Deloitte report here.

Two months equals 16.7% of the year in production, less when we consider Christmas and summer closing, so what can we say? No drop at all.

WatchPro report the tone of the announcement as ‘insouciant’, because Patek Philippe has emerged from a pandemic that has shaken most brands to the bone stronger than ever. This is the comment of a President whose company is at the peak of their powers, with prices on the seconds market booming – with other steel sports models’ values skyrocketing off the back of the Nautilus discontinuation – and appetites for 2021 releases at a fever pitch before they have even been sighted. 

A little bit of experience doesn’t hurt either. As Stern points out, Patek Philippe has weathered crises before, with as much as a 50% drop, and still survived. Survival of the fittest indeed.