Watches of Switzerland sales dip but remain in line with ‘guidance and expectations’

In a trading update for the 13 weeks to July 2023, Watches of Switzerland posted total sales of £382m, representing a fall of 1% in constant currency terms and 2% in reported terms, compared with the £391m the business made during the same period last year.

The luxury watch retailer reported sales of £163m in the US, a 10% growth in constant currency terms “driven by higher volumes, reflecting the success of our model and the strength of client demand”.

In the UK and Europe, sales were down by 8% to £219m, “impacted by product intake timing, which benefited Q4 FY23”.

Watches of Switzerland said its guidance for the current financial year remains unchanged, with revenue expected to be between £1.65bn and £1.70bn, as it hopes for “a return to more normalised growth in the balance of the financial year where we will maintain performance against softer comparatives”.

Chief executive Brian Duffy said: “We have delivered a Q1 performance in line with our guidance and expectations, with ongoing strong progress in the US, where we delivered 10% constant currency sales growth, and a performance in the UK and Europe that reflected the unwind of the product intake timing we benefited from in Q4 FY23.

“Looking ahead, we expect to return to more normalised growth rates in the balance of the financial year. Our full-year guidance for another year of strong growth remains unchanged, underpinned by our supply visibility, client registration-of-interest lists and a strong pipeline of showroom openings, refurbishment and investment, as luxury watch demand continues to outstrip supply. 

“We look forward to presenting our long-range plan update in the autumn, which will outline our growth ambitions to FY28.”