United Kingdom sets October record for imports of Swiss watches
This year, the British watch industry has struggled to match the stratospheric results of 2017 (+7% to CHF 1.3 billion), but October saw a notable return to growth with a 5% increase of Swiss watches. The total for October of CHF 128.5 million is the highest monthly import figure since November 2016’s CHF 129.4 million. Q4 of 2016 was one of the hottest periods on record as the devaluation of sterling after the Brexit vote gave the UK a massive price advantage for luxury watches over other European or dollar-based countries. For the first 10 months of 2018, Swiss exports to the UK are still running at 5% below the same period last year.