Time to celebrate: Watches of Switzerland enjoys revenue boost as pandemic conditions ease
Luxury watch retailer Watches of Switzerland has reported a hefty boost in revenues amid increased demand for its timepieces across UK and US markets.
The premium brand is ticking over with year-to-date revenues of £934.3m, and third-quarter sales of £348.1m.
Currently, its performance reflects a 38 per cent increase year-on-year, compared to this stage in 2021.
Consumer appetite for luxury watches from brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet continues to be very strong in both the UK and the US, and is consistently exceeding supply.
Meanwhile, there has been a 120 per cent growth in sales of luxury watches separate to the headline brands.
The company has also announced fresh updates to its European expansion plans, securing six mono-brand boutiques in Sweden, Denmark and Republic of Ireland.
These boutiques will open in the first half of 2023.
Alongside watches, luxury jewellery sales have proved resilient, rising 89 per cent on last year.
This both reflects a strong market, and Watches of Switzerland’s incremental growth in the retail space following its Betteridge acquisition and the opening of its Bvlgari boutique
Group ecommerce sales are down 1.1 per cent on last year, when UK stores were open for four weeks out of thirteen due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
Chief executive Brian Duffy, said: “I am pleased to report continued strong momentum for our Group following a successful Christmas trading period. We have delivered impressive growth in both luxury watches and luxury jewellery in both the UK and US markets demonstrating the value of our portfolio of world leading partner brands.
Commenting on full-year expectations, he added: “Strong trading to date, revised pricing by certain brands and visibility of supply for calendar 2022 all support our expectation to perform towards the top end of our full year guidance.”