Swiss watch industry: focus on retail business and India as a growth market
A new Deloitte study shows: The next growth market for Swiss watch industry products could be India. In addition, despite the success of e-commerce offerings, the customer experience in the retail store remains of great importance.
The Swiss watch industry is setting new records in exports and is undergoing a transformation. After an impressive result in 2022, when watch exports reached a new record of almost CHF 25 billion, the strong growth trend continued in the first eight months of this year. Core regions such as the US and China recorded healthy growth. Despite the rise in e-commerce, 62 percent of brands expect in-store sales to dominate over the next five years and plan to expand their retail activities.
This is clear from the Deloitte study 2023 on the Swiss watch industry which includes insights from industry experts and consumer surveys in key markets. The study also shows that watch industry executives see India as a market with incredible potential in the coming years. In the first eight months of the current year, India saw above-average sales growth of 18 percent. Deloitte expects India to be among the top ten Swiss export markets within a decade.
