Swatch backs 2012 sales target
Swiss watchmaker Swatch's chief executive, Nick Hayek, backed his 2012 sales target of 8 billion Swiss francs ($8.1 billion) and downplayed concern Chinese demand for luxury watches may be cooling, in a newspaper interview.
Hayek told German paper Handelsblatt Swatch was diversified across enough price ranges to weather softer demand from China for high-end watches.
"I am far more worried about the increasing influence of finance than I am about possible problems in China," Hayek said in an advance print of an interview set to appear Wednesday.
Swiss watch exports climbed 10.2 percent in real terms in May, representing a faster pace of growth than in April.
Worries persist that Chinese demand for the highest-priced segment of luxury goods, such as watches, will hit Swatch and rival Richemont.
Last year, growth in middle and lower-priced Swatch segments such as Certina, CK and Tissot and also the company's colourful namesake plastic watch helped offset slowing demand for high-end watches that hurt some competitors.
 Photo: Swatch |
Hayek told German paper Handelsblatt Swatch was diversified across enough price ranges to weather softer demand from China for high-end watches.
"I am far more worried about the increasing influence of finance than I am about possible problems in China," Hayek said in an advance print of an interview set to appear Wednesday.
Swiss watch exports climbed 10.2 percent in real terms in May, representing a faster pace of growth than in April.
Worries persist that Chinese demand for the highest-priced segment of luxury goods, such as watches, will hit Swatch and rival Richemont.
Last year, growth in middle and lower-priced Swatch segments such as Certina, CK and Tissot and also the company's colourful namesake plastic watch helped offset slowing demand for high-end watches that hurt some competitors.
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