Luxury watchmaker doubles revenues after ‘extremely strong’ performance

Leicester-based Watches of Switzerland has seen its revenues almost double during its first quarter to August 1, with strong growth in both the UK and US.

Group revenue reached £297.5m during the period – up from £151.6m last year, driven by impressive growth in both luxury watch sales and jewellery. Online sales during the period also rose by almost 16%, despite Watches of Switzerland stores being open.

Brian Duffy, chief executive officer, said: “We have had a very good start to the new financial year with a further acceleration in momentum, versus pre COVID-19 pandemic growth levels, underpinned by diversified growth across our markets and categories.

“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. We continue to invest in digital marketing initiatives to drive brand awareness, including through our recently introduced ‘Anywhere, Anytime’ campaign.

“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, whilst our ecommerce business has also continued to grow impressively, proving the effectiveness of our multi-channel model despite the strong prior-year comparator.

“Looking ahead, we are excited about the planned launch in September 2021 of our Xenia project to further advance the customer experience. We will continue to invest for growth and to advance our strategy to further enhance our leading position in the UK and become a leader in the US luxury watch market.”