Watches of Switzerland has hailed “strong” growth across its UK and US markets during the first quarter of its financial year.
The retailer posted a 102% spike in sales to £298m during the 13 weeks to August 1. That figure was also up 46% compared with the same period in 2019.
Luxury watch sales surged 97% to £259m, representing 87% of the brand’s revenue for the quarter.
Revenues raked in from its luxury jewellery proposition almost doubled to £20m.
Watches of Switzerland registered growth in its core UK market despite “subdued store traffic” following the reopening of physical retail.
UK revenues rocketed 105% compared with the same quarter last year, buoyed by the opening of three new stores in Edinburgh and one in Manchester.
Online sales rose 16% compared with 2020 levels, when stores were impacted by Covid-19 lockdowns.
Sales in Watches of Switzerland’s US business jumped 95% year on year to £76m, as footfall increased to its New York and Las Vegas stores, plus the opening of eight new stores and a transactional ecommerce site boosted performance.
The retailer’s chief executive Brian Duffy said: “Our US business goes from strength to strength, with excellent, broad-based growth continuing to characterise our performance in this market.
“Both luxury watches and luxury jewellery are performing strongly and our refurbished Mayors stores have continued to generate significant sales uplifts.”
He added: “Trading in the UK has been extremely strong, driven by sustained high demand from domestic clientele.
“Our newly opened and refurbished stores have performed well, while our ecommerce business has also continued to grow impressively, proving the effectiveness of our multichannel model despite the strong prior-year comparator.”
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