Trump tariffs give watch sellers a hard time in Swiss hub

By Marleen Kaesebier

LUCERNE, Switzerland (Reuters) -Swiss watch sellers in Lucerne have endured a tough three months since U.S. President Donald Trump piled pressure on the luxury business with the threat of hefty tariffs, reducing interest from tourists who flock to the city in part to shop for watches.

Reuters spoke with over a dozen industry workers in the watch-selling hub, including shop managers and salespeople, who said tariff uncertainty has weighed on a sector that exported watches worth 26 billion Swiss francs ($32.79 billion) in 2024.

The business is already coping with weak Chinese demand, while in Switzerland, a franc supercharged by U.S. trade uncertainty has made the watches more expensive for foreign tourists.

Switzerland, which relies heavily on trade, was stunned when Trump said in April he would hit the country with a 31% tariff, well above the 20% rate proposed for the European Union. 

"That obviously really put the brakes on," said Ken May, boutique manager at a Hublot store.

Trump subsequently suspended the tariffs for 90 days, maintaining a 10% duty, and later extended his deadline until August 1. That sparked a rush by watchmakers to move their products to the U.S. ahead of the tariffs, causing Swiss exports to yo-yo up and down.

The industry is on track to log its lowest export volumes for wristwatches since the pandemic in 2020, according to data from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH).

"We have to open other markets," Yves Bugmann, FH president, said. "We have to look for other opportunities."

Unit exports were down nearly 5% in the January-May period year-over-year, though marginally up in value terms.

This summer, there are noticeably fewer tourists packing Lucerne's main watch-selling street. Those who come are more careful with their money, salespeople said. 

Thousands of watches glint at shoppers in Lucerne's Grendelstrasse, which boasts stores from Rolex to Patek Philippe. Watches in these shops typically cost from several hundred francs to more than 500,000 francs. 

At Patek Philippe, which sells watches online for nearly 3.8 million francs, customers take an elevator to an upstairs boutique. Here, a watchmaker wearing a white lab coat delivers customised timepieces on a tray to clients. 

"Everything is just a bit slower than last year," said Michael Haas, boutique manager of a Breitling store in Lucerne. "We're in a luxury business, and as a rule, that's where people save first when the going gets tougher."

($1 = 0.7930 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier; Editing by Dave Graham and Rod Nickel)