Singapore – A growing luxury watches market

Singapore is renowned not only as a trading hub but also becoming a luxury shopper paradise.

Currently, ranked 7th worldwide, Singapore swiss watch imports grew by more than 33.9% from 2010 same period. The Singapore swiss watch market was valued at 98.7 million CHF.

Singapore is the leading market in Southeast Asia, followed closely by Thailand with a value of 36.7 million CHF and Malaysia at 6.9 million CHF.

A GfK survey from December 2011 on watch retailers revealed that more than 30% of their customers are tourists, with a significant portion coming from Mainland China and India. The purchasing power of these consumers has led to well-known companies, such as Panerai, Zenith and Patek Philippe, opening new stores to take advantage of these tourists.

So, why are Chinese and Indian tourists willing to spend thousands of dollars on watches in Singapore?

An important factor to note is the authenticity of these luxury watches and also less likely of them getting fakes. The other factor would be availability of getting tax refunds and paying a lot lesser than in their own countries where these products are heavily tax.

Lastly, the products would likely be the most up-to-date range. Ultimately the current demand for these watches is significantly greater than the supply with Chinese and Indian consumers the main driving force behind this positive trend.

As of Dec 2011, the Singapore market has around 304 stores selling watches and of this number less than 15% is selling luxury brands watches. There is great potential in the area of luxury watches business in Singapore as we are still in the growing stage as compared with mature markets like Japan (currently ranked 8th worldwide based on Swiss Watch Industry Oct 2011 report) 

Source: Swiss Watch Industry, GfK Asia

Anthony Tan