Revue FH - 1st April 2010
According to the Comité Francéclat and Société 5-Gfk, which recently presented the results of their 2009 survey, French production of watches and jewellery recorded a 17% drop in value last year to 1.8 billion Euros. For watchmaking, down 18% to 230 million, the sector of watch components was particularly hard hit by the decline in orders from large Swiss customers.
Results in terms of sales contrast fortunately with those for production. Indeed, with a turnover of 5.2 billion Euros, the downturn in sales was limited to 2%, as in 2008 (+5% in 2007 and +2% in 2006). The French market therefore showed more resilience than most neighbouring countries. Jewellery sales have remained relatively stable since 2001 and recorded a total value of 3.8 billion Euros in 2009.
The 4% decline in 18-carat gold jewellery was partly offset by the 7% increase in silver jewellery (+5% in 2008). The total number of jewellery articles sold meanwhile rose from 65 million in 2008 to 66 million in 2009. And while gold accounts for 68% of sales in the sector, the products are only bought by one in five customers; around 18 million silver items were sold last year compared to 13 million manufactured from gold (in 2000, distributors sold twice as much gold jewellery as silver).
Watch sales accounted for 22.8% of the market in 2009 with a turnover of 1.2 billion Euro. While in 2008 this sector showed a slight increase of 1%, in 2009 it recorded a decline of 5%. In terms of price ranges, trends were as follows:
• watches costing more than 3,000 Euros: representing 0.4% of sales by volume and 23.1% by value, this segment recorded a 7% fall in value, after strong showings in 2008 (+13%), 2007 (+22%) and 2006 (+29%);
• watches between 1,000 and 2,999 Euros: this segment, accounting for 13.8% of sales by value and 0.7% by volume, was down 6% in value terms (-2% in 2008);
• watches between 300 and 999 Euros: with a 1.8% share by volume and accounting for 9.6% of sales by value, this was the only segment to record an upturn, albeit minimal, of 1% (+3% in 2008);
• watches between 100 and 299 Euros: this segment recorded a decline of 7% in value terms (-3% in 2008); it accounted for 22.3% of sales by value and 12.8% by volume;
• watches between 50 and 99 Euros: after a decline of 5% in 2008, this segment recorded a downturn of 2%, with 15.6% of sales by value and 20.3% by volume;
• watches costing less than 50 Euros: accounting for 64.0% of quantities sold and 15.6% of sales by value, this segment was down 5% in value terms compared to 2008, in which year it recorded an increase of 2%.
According to estimates by Société 5-GfK, total sales in 2009 amounted to 12.7 million watches at an average price of 93 Euros (13.3 million timepieces with an average price of 94 Euros in 2008). In terms of distribution circuits, jeweller's shops in city centres with a turnover in excess of 750,000 Euros continue to top the league for watch sales in value terms with 36.4% of the total and an average price of 522 Euros. Another dynamic network is that of shopping centre outlets, with a market share of 24.4% and an average price of 111 Euros. (Chambre française de l'horlogerie et des microtechniques)
