The continuing rise of the Swiss franc has not caused a rush among Chinese to buy luxury watches

Swiss watch sellers in mainland China say there has not been much difference in sales so far since the Swiss franc's sudden surge on Jan 15, although dealers in Hong Kong and Singapore have reported a rush of business.

Swiss watchmakers have been planning price hikes to counter the ascent of the Swiss franc since the Swiss National Bank decided to remove the cap on the franc-euro exchange rate.

Luxury goods stores on Russell Street in Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong attract customers from the Chinese mainland. Photos provided to China Daily

Swatch Group has announced price hikes of up to 10 percent, while Richemont's Cartier and Jaeger LeCoultre will increase prices by 5 percent in the euro zone, according to media reports.

A sales clerk in the Piaget store in Shin Kong Place in Beijing says the price will rise 8 to 15 percent after the Spring Festival, depending on the popularity of each model. The official notice has not been issued.

"We usually get the notice one day before the price rise," she says.

A sales person at the Chaumet store says the price has been climbing steadily, about 10 percent every year, after the Spring Festival, regardless of any change in the exchange rate.

Both stores, along with Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, Vacheron Constantin and Longines, say the customer flow has remained steady since the appreciation of the Swiss franc. None of them has adjusted the prices yet.

The China heads of Rolex, Blancpain, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin and Cartier didn't answer to interview requests about when and how much their prices in China will rise.

Shan Wei, managing director of Parmigiani Fleurier Asia Pacific, says there is no need to panic.

"Every industry has its ups and downs. I won't call it a crisis in the whole Swiss-watch industry. We won't be reacting in a big way," she says.

The brand sell several hundred watches per year in China.

On China's social network websites, overseas buyers have been encouraging people to buy Swiss watches before the price adjustment.

Swiss watch exports to China in November last year were valued at 92.1 million Swiss francs, 27.6 percent less than the same period in 2013 and 46.8 less than in 2012, according to statistics of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

The surge in the Swiss franc is also supposed to affect the costs of skiing vacations in Switzerland. However, the immediate effect is limited because it's the slack season for European travel, tourism agencies say.

"Most of the tours to Europe don't stay in Switzerland for a long time," says Yan Xin, manager of the public affairs department of Ctrip, a leading online travel agency. "So we won't adjust the price. For tours that focus on Switzerland, we will raise the price, but not too much," he says.

While the effect on tourism today is limited, if the Swiss franc keeps appreciating, then Chinese tourists would probably consider other parts of Europe rather than Switzerland, says Rao Tian, general manager at China International Tourism Service's overseas department.

Both agencies say that, so far, there has been no big change in the number of tourists who buy travel packages to Switzerland.

But that could change, says Huangfu Yining, a staff member at the Beijing branch of the Swiss National Tourist Office, in an e-mail interview.

"If the Swiss currency keeps surging, the reservations from the nearby Eurozone are expected to fall, especially from Germany and Holland. However, we are still optimistic about faraway countries with different currencies," she says.

The price for Swiss team tours is expected to rise after the Spring Festival, she adds.

Contact the writer at sunyuanqing@chinadaily.com.cn

sunyuanqing@chinadaily.com.cn

A customer looks at Swiss brand Vacheron Constantin watches in Zhengzhou, Henan province. Photos provided to China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 02/06/2015 page26)