The first half ended with a deterioration of Swiss watch exports. Monthly results had already showna distinct fall since the beginning of the year and the month of June was down by as much as31.9% against June 2008. However, thisslowdown only had a limited effect on the cumulativevariation since January. After six months, watch exports showed a 26.4% fall, i.e. a relativelyconstant rate for several months. In the first half, Swiss watch exports were worth the equivalent of6.1 billion francs, or 2.2 billion less than in 2008.
After five years of strong growth, the industry's exports slowed and started to decline from the endof 2008. The level is now below the 2006 results. The economic crisis which is affecting the worldhas generated a widespread fall in demand to which the Swiss watchmaking industry has not beenimmune. The consequences affect every single segment and more particularly suppliers. While amore favourable base effect does point to an improvement in the second half, the lack of visibility and confidence makes all forecasting difficult.
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Source: Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH
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