Tough times for Swiss watchmakers amid Sino-US trade dispute

The restraint of a key group of consumers is the chief concern of top executives at this year's luxury timepiece expo in Basel, Switzerland Watchmakers say they are caught in the middle of the US-China trade war - not because they face tariffs from either country but because the row saps growth prospects in the two largest markets As Chinese consumers travel less and hold back on splurges, growth in Swiss watch exports has been faltering since the middle of last year.

China's consumers account for about one-third of luxury spending and up to two-thirds of growth, but they have turned cautious amid the slowest domestic economic expansion in almost three decades Richemont, the owner of Cartier and Baume & Mercier, signalled a Chinese slowdown last November, warning that a weakening yuan or the trade conflicts could further weigh on sales China is still considered the most promising growth market once trade tensions ease.

"Situations like trade wars, Brexit, natural catastrophes per se put the brakes on demand, but it rebounds very quickly The fastest rebound of the Swiss watch industry was after Lehman Brothers Then came the great years." . Source