Swatch to Add Sunglasses With Safilo as Swiss Watch Demand Ebbs

GENEVA, Switzerland — For decades, Swatch has helped you keep time. Soon, it'll keep your eyes shaded as well.

Swatch Group AG will introduce sunglasses under its namesake brand this year under a five-year alliance with Safilo Group SpA, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. The Swiss watchmaker will help the Italian company design collections that will be available in the spring.

The collaboration “harbors significant growth opportunities” for Safilo, Cedric Rossi, an analyst at Bryan Garnier, said in a note.

Swatch’s diversification comes as the Swiss watch industry struggles to sell more timepieces amid slowing economic growth in its biggest market, China. Low-end watch brands also have to contend with competition from the Apple Watch.

Swatch is returning to the sunglasses category after a stint selling them in the 1990s. The new collection will be sold through Swatch stores, Safilo’s Solstice chain in the U.S., and distributors around the world.

By Thomas Mulier; editors: Matthew Boyle, Paul Jarvis.