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1 Market Overview
1.1 Definition and presentation
Among the sectors of the world economy that have withstood best the jolt inflicted by the pandemic is that of luxury watches: items that have not only continued to be sold, but have done so with better numbers than before the pandemic. When we talk about luxury watches, we mean all watches that because of their brand, their features, or the material in which they are made, are priced in a way that puts them in the luxury market. Luxury watches can be sold in the primary market in jewelry stores, in flagship stores or online, or in the secondary market. The latter has grown rapidly in recent decades, more so than the primary one, citing the prices of some watches that are not so easy to find. Luxury watches are not only used as watches but also as adult jewelry. The most valuable watches are Swiss because of the history and expertise of the craftsmen. Luxury watches possess different technologies and movements, the more complex the movement the more valuable the watch will be. Many luxury brands in recent years prefer to invest in the material of the watch, going so far as to adorn them with diamonds and precious materials, rather than paying attention to the movement. The most famous brands are: Rolex, Omega, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Richard Mille, Hublot, Cartier, and Jaeger Le-Coutre.
In 2015, it reached a total value of 40 billion euros and has remained somewhat stable in recent years.
The luxury watch market in Italy replicated the good performance seen worldwide, not only with good resilience to the impacts of the pandemic, but also with significant increases in sales, particularly online purchases. A position that was already brilliant before the global crisis, with the entire value of the luxury watch market in Italy reaching 1 billion euros in 2019, a significant increase over the previous year's figures. In short, the industry seems to be doing well, even as sales practices begin to change. In Italy, flagship stores can be found in larger cities, but jewelry stores are also important players as retailers of new or second-hand artifacts.
Due to the inability to visit physical stores during the lockout, online shopping has exploded, with double-digit growth rates for purchases made on web-based platforms. The most popular in Italy is Chrono24, with annual sales exceeding 800 million euros.
1.2 A Robust Global Marketplace
The global luxury watch market is a large market now considered mature. In ****, it reached a total value of ** billion euros, driven particularly by consumption in Asian countries-China in particular. However, as we can see from the chart below, the market for luxury watches has shrunk slightly over the years, only ...
1.3 The Italian Market
The Italian luxury watch market reached a value of *.** billion euros in ****, as evidenced by research conducted by GfK Italia for Assorologi, the Italian Watch Manufacturers and Distributors Association. As can be seen in the chart below, which shows the evolution of the size of this market between **** and ****, the data ...
1.4 International Trade
The HS code corresponding to luxury watches is ******: wristwatches; with or without chronometer function, self-winding. Analyzing the international trade flows related to this HS code, the following trends emerge.
Imports, exports and coverage rate of luxury watches Italy, **** - ****, in millions of euros and % Source: ****
As can be seen from the ...
1.5 Impact of COVID-19
he luxury goods sector was hit hard by the coronavirus crisis in ****. In fact, for the first time since ****, the main luxury goods market declined ** percent to *** billion. [***]. The entire luxury market declined by more than * trillion euros on a global scale. The luxury watch segment fell **%. The coronavirus crisis amplified ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Italian Luxury Watch Lovers' Preferences
We have already mentioned that the most popular website in Italy for buying luxury watches online is Chrono**, which has strengthened its position also thanks to the closure of physical stores due to the restrictions put in place by the Italian government in **** and **** to deal with the COVID-** pandemic.
The ...
2.2 The push from collectors and reselling
The buying and selling of luxury watches has given a strong boost to the overall market thanks to platforms that facilitate trading and thus make it easy to give up a used watch to buy a new one. This market is booming as also shown by studies by McKinsey and BCG ...
2.3 Millennials and luxury watches
There are many luxury brands that are trying to connect with the younger generation. This entails a different approach to marketing to the past with great emphasis on influencer marketing, the use of celebrities as brand ambassadors or approaching sustainability issues.
More and more millennials are approaching this market, given also ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Simplified outline of market structure
Source: ****
3.2 The production of watches in Italy
Although the luxury watch market represents a niche in the larger generic watch market, it is still useful to take a look at data related toAteco code**.**: watch manufacturing .
In Italy, in ****, the last year for which ISTAT makes data available for this Ateco code, there are only ** companies specializing in ...
3.3 Retail Trade
Having analyzed the side of the market concerning the production of luxury watches, we have concluded that the number of businesses engaged in this activity is small. Instead, let us now go on to analyze the side of the market that deals with the marketing of watches, which is often side-by-side ...
3.4 Distribution Channels
Regarding distribution channels, the data highlighted in this market study, especially those regarding the recovery of retail after closures due to the pandemic crisis, testify to the strong importance that this distribution channel maintains for Italian luxury watch consumers. In fact, about **.* percent of quantity sales of these products still remain ...
4 Supply analysis
4.1 Type of the offer
The luxury watch, can be considered a neat and precise instrument but also a real aesthetic or technological jewel, with a strong symbolic and status value. In general, this type of product can take many different forms.
For example, the luxury watch can be made of precious jewels, some models are ...
4.2 Pricing
The analysis of the pricing of luxury watches is very interesting. Indeed, many experts consider these products to be safe-haven assets, capable of withstanding periods of crisis in value and thus in price. In fact, this is confirmed by the price trends of this category, which seem to always trend upward, ...
4.3 Connected watches and the disruptive effect on the market
The connected watch segment is becoming increasingly important, attracting many players. In fact, in addition to the big technology players-Apple, Samsung, Google among others-traditional players in watchmaking are offering connected watches. After a long period of ignoring the competition from these connected watches, it is now evident that the traditional watch ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Counterfeiting at the heart of luxury watch regulation
Luxury watches are particularly affected by counterfeiting and smuggling. In Italy, counterfeiting is a crime as stipulated inArticle *** of the Civil Penal Code. Specifically, a retailer who sells counterfeit items is punished with imprisonment of up to two years and a fine of **,*** euros. In addition, confiscation of the counterfeit goods ...
6 Positioning of actors
6.1 Segmentation
- Richemont Group
- Swatch Group
- Rolex
- Patek Philippe
- Audemars Piguet
- Ruzza Orologi
- Diffusione Orologi SRL
- Chrono24
- LVMH ITALIA S.P.A.
List of charts presented in this market study
- The global luxury watch market
- Main exporting countries of luxury watches
- Main markets for luxury watches
- Size of the Italian luxury watch market
- Features most important to Italian consumers
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Latest news
Rolex, the Swiss ogre of luxury watches - 20/08/2024
- - Annual production: Over 1.2 million units per year.
- - One in three luxury watches sold is a Rolex.
- - World's leading watch brand since the early 1970s.
- - Opening of a subsidiary in Hong Kong in 1967.
- - In ten years, Rolex has doubled in size.
- - Share of sales in the luxury sector: Over 30% of sales of high-end Swiss dials.
- - The watch resale market is worth 25 billion euros, with Rolex as a key reference.
Betakron, the French subsidiary of Patek Philippe, doubles its production area - 31/05/2024
- patek Phimippe founded in 1839 and owned by the Stern family since 1932,
- Production of 72,000 watches each year.
- betakron, a 100% subsidiary of the Swiss watchmaker
- Subcontractor to the luxury watchmaking industry
- 190 employees in 2024
- only French manufacturing subsidiary of Patek Philippe
- the seven other subsidiaries are located in Switzerland
Nicolas Bos, a Frenchman at the helm of Swiss luxury giant Richemont - 28/05/2024
- - Record sales of 20.6 billion euros.
- - Sales growth in Asia-Pacific: +4% at actual exchange rates; +10% at constant exchange rates.
- - Jewelry sales growth: +6% at actual exchange rates.
- - Decline in sales in specialized watchmaking: -3% at actual exchange rates.
- - Sales decline in other activities: -2% at actual exchange rates.
Luxury goods: in good shape, Richemont chooses a new CEO - 20/05/2024
- - Richemont sales: 20.6 billion euros, up 3% year-on-year.
- - Richemont net profit: 2.3 billion euros
- - Jewelry sales rose by 6% to 14.2 billion euros, representing 69% of total sales.
- - Watch sales fell by 3% to 3.7 billion euros.
- - Richemont acquired the Milanese brand Vhernier, its first acquisition since Buccellati in 2019.
Lvmh: Belloni steps down as general manager and will be president of Lvmh Italy - 22/03/2024
- **Toni Belloni**
- - Period in LVMH: more than 23 years
- - Roles: General manager and chairman of the executive committee of LVMH
- - Next role: In charge of some strategic missions and president of LVMH Italy
- **Stéphane Bianchi**
- - Date of hire at LVMH: 2018
- - New roles: He will chair the executive committee and lead the group's geographic divisions and digital and data transformation, working in close collaboration with Bernard Arnault. 3.
- **Wei Sun Christianson**
- - Proposed Position: Administrator on the board of directors
- - Skills: Financial literacy, knowledge of the luxury market and China
- - Proposed co-option date: April 18 board of directors meeting
- **Bernard Arnault**
- - Roles: chairman and chief executive officer of the LVMH Group
- - Comment on Belloni: Describes him as critical to LVMH's success, citing his vision, loyalty, and participation in the group's acquisitions.
Rolex, the watchmaking champion, passes the $10 billion mark - 01/03/2024
- Percentage increase in Rolex sales last year: 11%
- - Total Rolex sales last year: $11.5 billion
- - Rolex market share: 30% (previously around 25%)
- - Cartier and Omega market share: 8% each
- - Swatch Group AG sales: more than 2 million MoonSwatch models sold, i.e. around 5.8 million watches sold one year after launch
- - Rolex production: 1.24 million watches
- - Acquisition of Bucherer by Rolex: 100 boutiques in 7 countries
- - Market segment where Rolex is most sought-after: second-hand
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