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ZURICH, Switzerland — Swiss watch exports slid for the seventh consecutive month as plummeting stock markets and slowing economies damped demand for luxury timepieces.
Shipments dropped 8 percent to 1.52 billion francs ($1.53 billion) in January, Switzerland’s customs office said in a statement Thursday. That compares with a 3.7 percent gain in the same month in 2015.
Watchmakers such as Rolex and Cartier have been hit by a triple whammy of higher production costs due to the strong franc, waning demand in China and a drop in tourists visiting Europe after the November terrorist attacks in Paris. Exports dropped 3.3 percent in 2015, the first annual decline since 2009.
By Corinne Gretler and Alice Baghdjian; editors: Matthew Boyle, Jan Schwalbe and Thomas Mulier.
