Swatch Group , the world's biggest watchmaker, said sales growth of above 10 percent is possible this year, depending on how crises in Europe and the Middle East play out, its chairwoman said on March 12. "The mood is very good," Nayla Hayek told Reuters at the Baselworld watch and jewellery fair.
"We expect 5-10 percent for the whole Swiss watch industry in 2012 and expect to be within this range, maybe even higher if the situation in Europe and in the Middle East will not deteriorate." The group reported double-digit growth rates for both January and February, as slowing growth for its high-end watches from China was offset by more sales of its lower priced watches.
"It's not just the high-end with the diamonds that's selling well, it's really the overall business that is very good," Hayek said. Hayek, whose brother Nick Hayek is chief executive of Swatch Group, also said the group was looking forward to a more definitive decision from the competition authorities on whether it can halt delivery of mechanical movements to certain rivals. The group, which says it has felt like the industry's "supermarket" for movements for decades, is allowed to reduce deliveries to rivals by up to 15 percent this year as an interim measure pending the outcome of an investigation.
"Nobody wants to be forced to deliver to everybody. After the decision, we will decide and discuss things with our partners," Hayek said.
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