Tweet
No time for luxury watches
by Cheow Xin Yi 24 Oct 2009
TODAY paper
SINGAPORE - The import of expensive Swiss watches has dropped by a fifth in the first nine months of this year as well-heeled consumers tightened their belts amid the global financial crisis.
The president of Singapore's Clock and Watch Trade Association (SCWTA), Mr Tay Liam Wee, said that the lower demand for such watches by the region's high net worth individuals contributed significantly to the 21-per-cent drop in sales.
The fall is also partly due to the higher sales chalked up last year since it was a "phenomenal record-breaking" year, said Mr Tay. The sale of luxury watches hit a whopping $3.4 billion last year, he added.
However, Mr Tay, who is also group managing director of Singapore's largest watch retailer Sincere Watch, expects the situation to stabilise. "Looking at the way things are, the sentiment in Asia seems to be very positive, so short of another major economic crisis, I don't expect trades to fall further and perhaps ... to report some kind of uptick. But it won't be a big surge, to be quite frank," he said on Friday.
He thinks Singapore's push to become a global city will also put it in good stead to court "quality visitors" for the luxury watch industry going forward. "As a country - a lot has already been put in place in terms of infrastructure. You see the development of integrated projects, and development of the restaurant scene," he said.
TODAY paper
The 180-member SCWTA is celebrating its 80th anniversary. It also plans to position its members as experts with profound product knowledge and known for high quality after-sale services.
Straits Times, Saturday, October 24 2009 (pg C29)
Singapore's timepiece industry expects 20% fall in turnover this year
THE luxury watch industry in Singapore has enjoyed five straight years of growth but the pendulum is likely to swing in the opposite direction this year as high-end consumers suppress their appetite for fancy goods.
Turnover is tipped to slump 20 per cent this year from its record haul last year, said Mr Tay Liam Wee, president of the Singapore Clock & Watch Trade Association (SCWTA).
The Singapore timepiece industry's turnover of $3.39 billion last year was up almost 18 per cent from $2.88 billion in 2007, according to data compiled by the association.
Last year's record sales mark just how fast the industry has grown since 2003, the year of the Sars outbreak, when turnover was just $1.96 billion. Singapore is the eighth-largest market in the world for Swiss watches, behind Hong Kong, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and China.
Swiss watch imports in the first nine months this year fell 21.1 per cent to 460.5 million Swiss francs (S$642 million), down from 584 million francs in the same period last year. This mirrors a global trend, with the total value of Swiss watch exports slumping 26 per cent to about 9.27 billion francs in the January to September period.
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said watches manufactured from precious metals such as gold and platinum suffered the steepest declines in value terms last month.
Despite the blip this year, the Singapore watch industry's growth has been stable so far, said Mr Tay, 50, who is also group managing director of Sincere Watch.
Real collectors, as opposed to speculators, are already back in the market, which is expected to recover next year, driven by a growing number of connoiseurs.
"Watches are considered to be an investment of passion" along with other collectors' items such as gemstones and art pieces, paintings and sculptures, said Mr Tay.
Consumers are also becoming more sophisticated and knowledgeable about fine watches in line with the growth of the economy.
"The real collectors are coming back into the market with a focus of buying quality pieces."
Mr Tay expects prices of luxury watches, which can range from $2,000 to $80,000 each, to rise. This is especially so for mechanical timepieces, which require expert craftsmanship as they can be highly complicated and time-consuming to make.
"The money is coming back (into the luxury watch market) but people are very discerning in their purchases," he said.
He said the auction market is a good indicator of the demand and shows that watches seem to hold their value when they go under the hammer.
Singapore's position as a wealth planning and management hub is gaining traction and that is expected to contribute positively to the local watch industry. The SCWTA will be celebrating its 80th anniversary next Saturday, making it the oldest clock and watch association in Asia.
It is marking the event by launching a commemorative coffee-table book tracing the transformation of the clock and watch industry in Singapore, from its early developments in the 1920s.
Mr Tay is also confident that the industry could stage a major international show in Singapore within the next two years.
by Cheow Xin Yi 24 Oct 2009
TODAY paper
SINGAPORE - The import of expensive Swiss watches has dropped by a fifth in the first nine months of this year as well-heeled consumers tightened their belts amid the global financial crisis.
The president of Singapore's Clock and Watch Trade Association (SCWTA), Mr Tay Liam Wee, said that the lower demand for such watches by the region's high net worth individuals contributed significantly to the 21-per-cent drop in sales.
The fall is also partly due to the higher sales chalked up last year since it was a "phenomenal record-breaking" year, said Mr Tay. The sale of luxury watches hit a whopping $3.4 billion last year, he added.
However, Mr Tay, who is also group managing director of Singapore's largest watch retailer Sincere Watch, expects the situation to stabilise. "Looking at the way things are, the sentiment in Asia seems to be very positive, so short of another major economic crisis, I don't expect trades to fall further and perhaps ... to report some kind of uptick. But it won't be a big surge, to be quite frank," he said on Friday.
He thinks Singapore's push to become a global city will also put it in good stead to court "quality visitors" for the luxury watch industry going forward. "As a country - a lot has already been put in place in terms of infrastructure. You see the development of integrated projects, and development of the restaurant scene," he said.
TODAY paper
The 180-member SCWTA is celebrating its 80th anniversary. It also plans to position its members as experts with profound product knowledge and known for high quality after-sale services.
Straits Times, Saturday, October 24 2009 (pg C29)
Singapore's timepiece industry expects 20% fall in turnover this year
THE luxury watch industry in Singapore has enjoyed five straight years of growth but the pendulum is likely to swing in the opposite direction this year as high-end consumers suppress their appetite for fancy goods.
Turnover is tipped to slump 20 per cent this year from its record haul last year, said Mr Tay Liam Wee, president of the Singapore Clock & Watch Trade Association (SCWTA).
The Singapore timepiece industry's turnover of $3.39 billion last year was up almost 18 per cent from $2.88 billion in 2007, according to data compiled by the association.
Last year's record sales mark just how fast the industry has grown since 2003, the year of the Sars outbreak, when turnover was just $1.96 billion. Singapore is the eighth-largest market in the world for Swiss watches, behind Hong Kong, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and China.
Swiss watch imports in the first nine months this year fell 21.1 per cent to 460.5 million Swiss francs (S$642 million), down from 584 million francs in the same period last year. This mirrors a global trend, with the total value of Swiss watch exports slumping 26 per cent to about 9.27 billion francs in the January to September period.
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said watches manufactured from precious metals such as gold and platinum suffered the steepest declines in value terms last month.
Despite the blip this year, the Singapore watch industry's growth has been stable so far, said Mr Tay, 50, who is also group managing director of Sincere Watch.
Real collectors, as opposed to speculators, are already back in the market, which is expected to recover next year, driven by a growing number of connoiseurs.
"Watches are considered to be an investment of passion" along with other collectors' items such as gemstones and art pieces, paintings and sculptures, said Mr Tay.
Consumers are also becoming more sophisticated and knowledgeable about fine watches in line with the growth of the economy.
"The real collectors are coming back into the market with a focus of buying quality pieces."
Mr Tay expects prices of luxury watches, which can range from $2,000 to $80,000 each, to rise. This is especially so for mechanical timepieces, which require expert craftsmanship as they can be highly complicated and time-consuming to make.
"The money is coming back (into the luxury watch market) but people are very discerning in their purchases," he said.
He said the auction market is a good indicator of the demand and shows that watches seem to hold their value when they go under the hammer.
Singapore's position as a wealth planning and management hub is gaining traction and that is expected to contribute positively to the local watch industry. The SCWTA will be celebrating its 80th anniversary next Saturday, making it the oldest clock and watch association in Asia.
It is marking the event by launching a commemorative coffee-table book tracing the transformation of the clock and watch industry in Singapore, from its early developments in the 1920s.
Mr Tay is also confident that the industry could stage a major international show in Singapore within the next two years.
Our news complements each other anyway. What it boils down to is that best prices are not going to last long. Now perhaps is the time as ever to quickly grab bargains before market forces push prices upwards again! 
Comment