Switzerland is known as the "Kingdom of Watches", accounting for more than half of the world's watch production, 95% of which is exported. Last year, exports hit a record high, up 7.6% year-on-year to 26.7 billion Swiss francs (about 212.8 billion yuan), and the number of exports increased by 7.2% to 16.9 million pieces, with the United States, Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Japan and the United Kingdom being the top five export destinations.
There are about 350 Swiss watch brands, of which the top 50 have a revenue of 36.127 billion Swiss francs, with a total of 15.9 million pieces sold, accounting for 98.9% of the market share. The four major watch groups dominate, collectively accounting for more than 75% of the market share of the Swiss watchmaking industry and 31 places in the 2023 Swiss Watch TOP 50 list.
In fourth place is LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods company, with a market share of 5.8%, which owns TAG Heuer, Hublot, Bulgari, Louis Vuitton LV, Zenith, Dior Dior and other brands. In 2023, the watch and jewelry business revenue will be 10.902 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 3%, accounting for 12.6% of the group's overall performance.
Compared with fashion leather goods, watches have always been LVMH's weakness, and it is inevitable to increase its competitiveness in this field. The last year has been marked by a relaunch of the Swiss watch brand Daniel Roth, followed by the relaunch of the eponymous brand of the same name by Gerard Zanda, the late legendary watchmaker who developed iconic watches such as the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Patek Philippe Nautilus and Vacheron Constantin.
On January 1 of this year, Frederick Arnott, the third son of Bernard Arnott, Chairman of the Board of Directors of LVMH, was appointed CEO of the watch business, responsible for the strategic operations of Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith. That's right, he is the rumored boyfriend of Lisa, a Thai member of the Korean girl group BLACKPINK.
历峰集团(Richemont)排名第三,市场份额18.7%,旗下拥有卡地亚Cartier、江诗丹顿Vacheron Constantin、万国IWC、积家Jaeger、沛纳海Officine Panerai、梵克雅宝Van Cleef & Arpels、伯爵Piaget、朗格Lange、万宝龙Montblanc、名士Baume & Mercier、罗杰‧杜彼Roger Dubuis等品牌。
Vacheron Constantin's annual sales exceeded CHF 1 billion for the first time, up 18% year-on-year to CHF 1,097 million. As the oldest watchmaker in the world, Vacheron Constantin has been around for 269 years and is known for its simplicity and exceptional detail. In recent years, while maintaining the brand's heritage, it has actively launched younger, more diverse and modern products, such as the Overseas "Panda Plate" Chronograph/Retrograde Date with Moonphase.
Cartier is the "leader" of the Richemont Group, ranking second in the world in terms of sales last year (3.1 billion Swiss francs), with sales of 660,000 units. It is worth mentioning that the Cartier Santos is the world's first real wristwatch, designed in 1904 for the pilot Albert Santos Dumont, and it is also one of the few ultra-senior watches with a history of more than 100 years.
The Swatch Group came in second with a 19.4% market share. In 1983, the former Swiss Watch Industry Company (ASUAG) and the Swiss Watch Corporation (SSIH) merged to form the SMH Group (renamed the Swatch Group in 1998), which owns Omega, Longines Longines, Tissot, Swatch, Blancpain, Rado, Breguet, Hamilton, Mido and Harry Winston Brands such as Winston, Certina, Glashütte and more.
Last year, Swatch Group sales increased by 5.2% year-on-year to CHF 7,888 million, while net profit increased by 8.1% year-on-year to CHF 890 million. Among them, the sales of the entry-level brand Swatch surged 63% year-on-year to 660 million Swiss francs, with a total of 5.8 million units sold, making it the highest-selling brand in the 2023 Swiss Watch TOP 50. Longines and Tissot also posted double-digit growth, selling 3.1 million and 1.6 million watches, respectively.
Rolex is the only one of the four watch groups to achieve positive growth with a market share of 31.9%, while the remaining three have declined to varying degrees. Among them, the sales of Rolex ROLEX were 10.1 billion Swiss francs (about 80.5 billion yuan), and the sales volume was 1.24 million; TUDOR TUDOR sold CHF 545 million and sold 255,000 units. [Note: Carl F. Bucherer is not among them, as it was only acquired by Rolex at the end of last year]
In 1905, the German Hans Westdorf and the Englishman Davis co-founded Wilsdorf and Davis (the predecessor of Rolex) in London, a company mainly responsible for selling watches. Three years later, Hans Westdorf registered and changed his name to ROLEX in La Chaux-de-Fyn, Switzerland.
Over the course of more than a century, Rolex has launched the world's first waterproof wristwatch, the Oyster, the world's first self-winding wristwatch with a date display, and the world's first wristwatch with both a date window and a day of the week in full.
Currently, the Group has four main sites in Switzerland: the assembly center in Agacia, Geneva, where its headquarters is located, the movement manufactory in Biel, the case and strap factory in Plan-les-Ot, and the dial, gem-setting and bezel manufacturing plant in Chüneburg.