Luxury watchmakers resort to state aid as demand falls

[djh1201]

How quickly the world changes...

https://www.businessinsider.com/swiss-l ... ops-2024-9

"Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin, owned by Sowind Group, are reportedly the first brands to confirm that they've turned to the government for financial aid.
CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Two Swiss luxury watchmakers have sought state support to avoid job cuts.
Sowind Group, which owns both brands, has put about 15% of its 320 employees on furlough.
Swiss watchmakers have suffered from a decline in demand, especially from China."

[Neztuul]

Ok weird. Let's use the tax collected from street cleaners and waiters to produce snob watches for foreigners?

[Ryeguy]

It seems quite a few luxury brands bet the farm on China being a never-ending market for their goods and are now facing reality.

Unfortunately, I just don't think the Chinese market is coming back any time soon. It seems the Chinese real-estate market is in big trouble, and I just read that more than 15,000 high net worth individuals have bailed on the country this past year (mostly to the USA, Canada, and Singapore).

The other reason I say this is because a luxury watch is a durable item without much technological, or even design, innovation or advancement from model year to model year (unlike a luxury car where the styles and technology change from model year to model year). To have a continuously healthy market, you need either a steady stream of newly wealthy people who can afford your product, or new model releases which make previous releases feel "dated".

[River Rat]

Talking about the Chinese real estate market there was a thing about it on 60 minutes they built a luxury high rise apartment building like a city with a lot of high rises building just empty shells never finish the inside of them with no buyers was not completed like an abandoned ghost town empty street they lost their ass. Even the construction cranes were abandoned. They keep on building them, but most can't afford to move into them. Makes no financial Sense

[Henryj]

Ok weird. Let's use the tax collected from company owners and stockholders to keep watchmakers and staff working to produce snob watches for foreigners?

FIFY

[ds760476]

It seems quite a few luxury brands bet the farm on China being a never-ending market for their goods and are now facing reality.

Unfortunately, I just don't think the Chinese market is coming back any time soon. It seems the Chinese real-estate market is in big trouble, and I just read that more than 15,000 high net worth individuals have bailed on the country this past year (mostly to the USA, Canada, and Singapore).

Before the pandemic I built an insurance product to allow wealthy folks in HK to stick their HKD in USD (in Bermuda). I'm out of that world, so I don't know if it's still true, but in 2020 there was a line around the block.

[flyskate]

maybe, if they went back to more reasonable pricing , like it was in the past, the demand would once again be there. Just sayin'