Swatch to hike prices in US after tariffs, CEO says

ZURICH (Reuters) -Swatch will hike its prices in the United States by between 5% and 15% after the 39% tariff President Donald Trump imposed on Switzerland last month, the Swiss watchmaker's Chief Executive Nick Hayek said in a newspaper interview.

Hayek told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper at the weekend that the U.S. tariffs could be mitigated through transfer prices, margins and the cost of the company's products.

"Depending on the brand, we will increase prices in the range of 5 to 15 percent. But since we also have a strong presence in Canada and Mexico, there will be opportunities there too for American consumers," Hayek said.

Swatch's products are also represented on hundreds of Caribbean cruise ships, often duty free, he added.

All told, Swatch was performing well in the United States, said Hayek, whose company last week began selling a special edition watch that lampoons Trump's tariffs.

"As per the end of August, we were up around 15% in local currency across all brands. Americans are continuing to buy – even after price increases," he said.

Hayek highlighted the MoonSwatch Moonshine Gold watch, which he said now costs $450 instead of $400.

"Naturally, American customers weren't happy about that, but they also understood that it wasn't our fault, but rather the result of U.S. policy," he said.

(Reporting by Zurich Newsroom, Editing by Friederike Heine)