The value of luxury Swiss watches exported to the UAE and Saudi Arabia increased by a quarter in the first half of 2010, according to the latest figures from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FSWI).
In the UAE, the market for Swiss watches increased 24 percent from CHF224.5m ($211.90m) to CHF278.4m ($262.78m) in the first six months of this year, while Saudi Arabia recorded a rise of 25 percent to CHF106.6m ($100.60m) in the same period.
Sales in Qatar remained relatively stable and registered a 3.3 percent rise to CHF57m ($53.79m).
Sales in the UAE have made a dramatic recovery this year, previous figures from the FSWI showed that sales in the first nine months of 2009 slump by 34.7 percent.
Overall, sales in the UAE, Saudi and Qatar are down 18.1 percent, 10.9 percent and 2.9 percent respectively since the boom period in 2008.
Overall, global sales of the luxury watches was up 20.3 percent between January and June 2010 and the biggest increases were seen in the Czech Republic (302.7 percent), China (90.6 percent), Singapore (49.2 percent), Russia (48.7 percent) and Taiwan (48.5 percent).
However, the biggest slumps occurred in Australia (30 percent drop), Greece (nineteen percent drop) and Japan (8.6 percent drop). The three biggest global players in terms of overall sales were Hong Kong ($1.3bn), USA ($715.13m) and France ($475.96m).
Recent research is showing that the luxury goods market is bouncing back and making a recovery and global luxury sales are likely to grow four per cent this year, according to the research company Bain and Company’s latest update of its Luxury Goods Worldwide Market study.
Last year, sales of luxury products dropped by eight per cent to $199bn, however the first half of this year has seen sales bounce back by up to ten percent and the market is expected to grow to €205bn by the end of the year.
The Middle East is also proving to be a strong performer and 30 percent of the luxury boutiques that are forecast to open worldwide will be in the Gulf. The turnaround in the Gulf’s luxury watch market has led international designers and manufacturers to increase their focus on the market.
“Over the last 30 years the main focus has been Europe and the US and now we are really focusing on generating business in the Middle East,” said Luke Suter, sales manager at luxury Swiss watchmaker Fortis, which is a member of FSWI and in May launched an Arabic style wrist watch aimed at the Middle East market.
Mahesh Shahani, managing partner of Gems World and distributor of luxury watches in the UAE, said he is confident about the prospects for 2010 and he is planning to open “at least another five retail outlets in the UAE this year and seven or eight next year.”
Shahani was also instrumental in the design and development of Fortis’ Arabic style wrist watch, the B-42 Al Tayar, which features full Arabic calligraphy, including date information, and is the only watch available off the shelf that is completely Arabic.
“I was born and brought up in an Arabic culture and have always had an affinity with its traditions and language. Being involved in the watch making industry, I noticed that there was a lack of watches that reflected this culture and so I was always keen to try and produce one,” said Shahani.
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