Against the background of the global Covid-19 pandemic and the near total standstill in global and local trade, the Swiss watch industry saw its exports plunge by 67.9%, relatively, a somewhat improved performance compared to the massive 81.3% drop in April 2020, according to data released by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH).

With production, distribution and sales almost all at a near standstill, the decline was not unexpected, with total exports reaching just 655.6 million francs, much higher than the 328.8 million francs achieved in the earlier month. The federation said the fall was on account of the “second month of quasi-paralysis” for the industry.

In all, just 0.5 million units were exported, which was 1.3 million fewer than the volume exported in May 2019, a decline of 71.4% year-on-year.

FH said that watches across all groups of materials fell by margins of over 63% both in value and volume terms, though in volume terms, the Other materials category fell by more than the average.

All price segments fell by an almost identical amount, in both value and volume terms.

The top six markets in terms of overall share all reported declines. The United States (-79.2%), Japan (-74.2%), France (-76.7%), Singapore (-74.8%) and the United Kingdom (-76.7%) were among the countries that fell by more than the average. While China (-54.6%) outperformed other countries for the second month in a row, it did not stand out to the same extent as in April and recorded a sharp decline. It seems that the recovery in this market is not yet a given, the association said.