JEDDAH, 9 July 2007 — With demand for watches constantly on the rise, the share of Swiss brands has shown a phenomenal increase over the years.
Saudi Arabia has remained the biggest market in the GCC for Swiss watches, especially for the Swatch Group that includes Tissot, Certina, Rado and Mido watches, two senior executives of the group said in their presentation during Al-Ghazali Trading Company’s annual exhibition for Tissot and Certina brand watches at Laylaty hall on Sunday night.
“We continuously conduct a study of various markets including that of Saudi Arabia and we realize that the demand from women is quite strong for diamond watches across the Kingdom,” Adrian Bosshard, president of Certina S.A., a Swiss time maker since 1888 and a company of the Swatch Group, said.
“The Kingdom is number one market for us in the GCC. Our Saudi market share is growing at the rate of 11 percent per year. Globally, we are marking a double-digit growth annually,” Bosshard said.
“We are seriously considering this market for launching diamond watches in due course,” he said. “Demand patterns among Saudi women in particular show that they long for expensive watches with innovative designs and precious stones. After all, this is a niche market for watches studded with diamonds and other precious stones,” Tissot Vice President Sales Dr. Ulrich Fischer, said.
Wide ranging Tissot, Ceritina and other watches of the Swatch Group were on display at the show, which was jointly opened by Hatem ibn Hassan Qadi, deputy minister in the Ministry of Haj, and Swiss Consul General Adrien Evequoz. Watches exhibited were mostly displayed at the Basel 2007 held in April. Some of them reflect the company’s prowess in manufacturing watches including fancy ones for women and technologically advanced ones for sports. The company also excels in making heritage watches.
Qadi remarked that the show was impressive as some of the watches were of new and attractive design. “I was thrilled to see so many varieties of watches under one roof, especially of the square dial types,” Evequoz said.
Speaking to the media, the Swiss executives said their company was listed on the stock market and its financial results were always in public glare. “We are a global brand and present in 150 countries,” Fischer said.
Asked for the impact of the gray market on the company’s watches, Fischer said: “We have minimum problems, as our watches are priced in such a manner that the margin for counterfeiters will be low. Of course counterfeiting is very much there in some of the up-market brands including Rado,” he added.
