Swiss watchmakers say Gen Z buyers want emotion, not status, as exports slide

Swiss watchmakers are confronting declining exports alongside a generational shift in how younger buyers choose a watch. Switzerland shipped 14.6 million timepieces last year, down from 25.4 million in 2016, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, and the industry says Gen Z consumers want excitement and emotion from a purchase rather than status or loyalty to one brand.

Executives raised the trend this week at Geneva Watch Days, the industry's annual post-summer gathering, where a record 71 brands set up in hotel rooms, boutiques and exhibition spaces. Jean-Christophe Babin, president of Geneva Watch Days and chairman of Bulgari, called it the industry's main challenge, now seen as a bigger threat to Swiss exports than the war in the Middle East.

Swiss watch exports turned positive earlier this year, though risks at the top end lingered, and shipments climbed again in July, with US demand offsetting continued weakness in Asia. The rebound offers some relief, but it has done little to change the longer decline in unit volumes that is reshaping how the industry sells.

Switzerland's exporters have also been contending with US tariffs and a strong franc squeezing margins, pressure that has fallen hardest on the mid-priced segment competing hardest with Japan and China. A trade deal between China and Switzerland cutting tariffs on Swiss exports was struck to ease pressure in one of the industry's largest markets.

Babin said Gen Z and young millennials are less driven by status and brand loyalty, and are instead 'more about excitement, emotion, discovery.' They are also more comfortable buying secondhand and vintage watches online, avoiding waiting lists and reaching discontinued models with immediate gratification.

That activity is outside the control of Swiss houses built on scarcity and heritage, and one of them has moved to claw some of it back. Rolex is bringing certified pre-owned sales through its authorised dealer network under its own guarantee of authenticity: we found sales through its Certified Pre-Owned programme more than doubling in the first half of the year.

How competition is cutting into demand

Competition from Japanese and Chinese watchmakers is intensifying in the mid-price segment, the tier where many first-time luxury buyers enter the category. Babin said Chinese-made movement quality is now comparable to ETA SA or Sellita for standard complications, and Chinese watchmakers are increasingly selling mechanical watches globally online, bypassing traditional retail networks and adding pressure on mid-priced Swiss products.

Chinese luxury jeweller Laopu, one of the country's most viral consumer brands, is cited as evidence that Western incumbents risk rapid displacement. Oliver Müller, founder of the industry advisory firm LuxeConsult, said Japanese brands such as Seiko, Citizen and Casio are doing well because they do not try to trade up the way Swiss manufacturers do.

'Gen Z probably gives less weight to the Swiss-made hallmark,' Müller said. Each of those brands is marginal on its own, he added, but aggregated they are pulling volume away from institutional Swiss-made names, the same erosion that is prompting some of the biggest maisons to change how they sell.

The gap between the top and the middle

Swiss manufacturers have tried to cushion the blow by moving further upmarket, lifting prices as volumes fell. That strategy has only protected the largest names: Rolex, Patek Philippe and Cartier retain a cult-like following. Mid-market players and suppliers are being hit hard, and Swiss watchmakers say the pitch itself needs to change to win younger buyers back.

Rodolfo Festa-Bianchet, chief executive of the higher-end watchmaker Bianchet, said the ultra-high segment still commands 'collector interest, but it's a tougher market for those in the middle.' Babin said the industry has been too cautious in responding to changing tastes, focusing on technical improvements while failing to deliver bold new ideas.

He pointed to the Royal Pop collaboration between Audemars Piguet and Swatch, unveiled earlier this year. It recast Royal Oak design codes in an accessible, colourful pocket-watch format aimed partly at younger consumers. 'This is what we are missing, this type of innovation more often and for more brands,' Babin said. 'If we don't do that, it will be very difficult to recover volumes.'

Breitling chief executive Georges Kern struck a more cautious note, warning that weaker demand for mid-priced Swiss watches might be the industry's 'new normal.' Investors are looking for a revival after tariffs, geopolitical tension and dampened Chinese demand weighed on the sector.

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