Even with a post-pandemic slump, the watch industry had a great 2022. According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, total exports have increased 11.6% year on year to CHF 23.7 billion (~$36.6 billion AUD). The MoonSwatch shared in this success having sold a million pieces, double the amount predicted by Morgan Stanley.
The Swatch Group (the conglomerate that owns both Omega and Swatch) did show growth, but it was limited when compared to the industry exports at just 4.6%. This was mainly due to reduced demand from China where Omega and Longines pieces are popular.
The MoonSwatch has an estimated 90% gross margin and the Swatch Group’s operating profit in 2022 was CHF 1.2 billion. The MoonSwatch retails for CHF 250 ($380 AUD) which may have accounted for around 20% of the Group’s overall profit.
Perhaps even more impressive relatively speaking, MoonSwatch sales made up almost 1% of the entire Swiss watch industry’s profits in 2022 with a $342 million profit. Not bad for a cheap quartz watch considering the sentiment towards them and the generally declining export rate. But what’s more, is that the MoonSwatch may have changed the game entirely for watch marketing. The kind of hype that this release saw hasn’t been seen in the watch world… well, ever really.
