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Significantly outpacing rivals like Cartier CHF 3.1 billion ($3.5 billion) and Omega CHF 2.6 billion ($2.9 billion). Additionally, Rolex has strengthened its dominant position in the market, capturing a remarkable 30.3% retail market share. Source: Visual Capitalist, www.zerohedge.com

Rolex sales crested $10 billion for the first time as the top Swiss watch brand gained market share, according to a report by Morgan Stanley. The dominant Swiss luxury watch brand produced 1.24 million watches in 2023 with sales of 10.1 billion Swiss francs ($11.5 billion). That’s a gain of 11% from 2022, analysts at Morgan Stanley and Swiss firm LuxeConsult said in a report Wednesday, adding Rolex’s current level of market share is “unprecedented.” The maker of the Daytona, Submariner and Datejust models grew its retail market share to just over 30% as well-heeled buyers clamored for watches made by the Geneva-based entity, which is controlled by a charitable trust named for Hans Wilsdorf, who co-founded the brand in 1908. The lower priced Tudor watch brand, which is owned by the same foundation as Rolex, had sales of about 545 million francs in 2023, according to Morgan Stanley estimates. source : bloomberg, morgan stanley

Monthly exports increased 3.1% to 1.9 billion Swiss francs ($2.2 billion) by value, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Tuesday. Growth was as high as 11.8% in the first half of last year. The number of timepieces exported rose 2.9% to 1.2 million as shipments of the Swatch brand’s Blancpain and Omega collaborations drove demand at the low end. The number of exported watches priced above 3,000 francs fell 4.5% in January, even as their value rose 4.3%, the Federation said in a statement. At the same time, the number of watches exported with a wholesale price of less than 200 francs surged 5.5% driven by the Swatch Group AG’s namesake brand. Exports to the US, the biggest market for Swiss timepieces, rose by a modest 2.2% by value. Mainland China exports gained 5% while shipments to Hong Kong fell 4.7%. Exports of watches hit a record 26.7 billion Swiss francs by value in 2023, but the rate of sales growth slumped to just 3.6% in the second half of the year as consumers pulled back. source : swissinfo

In less than 2 years, the price has declined by more than 35% WatchCharts Market Index tracks secondary watch market price trends It consists of 60 watches from the top 10 luxury watch brands, which are sorted and weighted by transaction value The index tracks the price movement of these watches in USD over time And is rebalanced every year on 1st Jan. Source: Game of Trades

Source: www.watchcharts.com

Extract from a zerohedge article: The secondary market for pre-owned Rolex and Patek Philippe watches has been spiraling down since peaking in early 2022, mainly because the Federal Reserve ended helicopter-dropping trillions of dollars in stimulus checks and was forced to begin the most aggressive interest rate hiking cycle in a generation to curb inflation. Now, the Fed's bizarre, unexpected pivot this week has spurred hope that a bottom nears for the luxury watch market. Bloomberg spoke with Christy Davis, a co-founder of Subdial, a UK-based secondary watch market dealer and trading platform, who believes the turmoil in the secondary luxury watch market is ending. "As we look toward 2024, the potential for a soft landing of stable and eventually declining rates is reason for optimism in the watch market," Davis said. Source: www.zerohedge.com

Source: Morgan Stanley

The UK’s biggest seller of Rolex watches lost nearly a third of its value on Friday after the Swiss brand bought Bucherer AG, taking its first major step into retailing. Watches of Switzerland Group Plc shares fell as much as 30%, wiping out almost £500 million ($629 million) in market capitalization. Rolex unveiled the surprise move to buy Bucherer late Thursday, prompting analysts to question what the deal means for Watches of Switzerland’s future relationship with the brand. Peel Hunt’s Jonathan Pritchard noted that Rolex accounts for half of the company’s sales, and cut his rating on the stock to hold from buy. Rolex executives assured the UK’s biggest retailer of the brand that it will continue to be allocated watches by the same distribution system, Watches of Switzerland Chief Executive Officer Brian Duffy said in an interview. Source: Bloomberg