Switzerland remains one of the global leaders in luxury goods thanks to its resilience and brand heritage

Swiss luxury good market dominated by Richemont, Swatch Group and Rolex

Consumers in emerging markets such as China, Russia and United Arab Emirates continue to drive luxury market growth with 70% of consumers claiming to have increased their spending in the last 5 years, compared to 53% in the more mature markets (EU, US and Japan). Switzerland remains one of the strongest luxury goods markets with two companies in the Top 10, excelling especially in luxury watch-making, according to the fourth annual Global Powers of Luxury Goods report issued by Deloitte.

The report examines and lists the 100 largest luxury goods companies globally, based on publicly available data for consolidated sales of luxury goods in FY2015 (which we define as financial years ending within the 12 months to 30 June 2016). It also discusses the key trends shaping the luxury market and provides a global economic outlook.

The world’s 100 largest luxury goods companies generated sales of US$212 billion in FY2015, which represents a currency-adjusted growth of 6.8%¹. The average luxury goods annual sales for a Top 100 company is now US$2.1 billion.

“The essence of luxury is changing from an emphasis on the physical to a focus on the experiential and how luxury makes you feel”, said Karine Szegedi, Head of Fashion & Luxury at Deloitte in Switzerland. “However, premium quality remains a ‘must have’ and consumers retain a keen eye for craftsmanship and hand-made products”.

Swiss luxury market clearly dominated by three players
There were ten Swiss companies in the top 100 this year. Switzerland's luxury good sales are dominated by Richemont, Swatch, and Rolex, which together account for 87% of FY2015 luxury goods sales for the ten Swiss companies in the Top 100. Richemont retained its #2 position in the Top 100, Swatch Group was overtaken by Kering and now ranks #6, while Rolex retained its #11 position.

Sales growth in luxury goods for the Swiss companies ranked in FY2015 was at 3.6% – the same as in FY2014, but below the average for the Top 100 as a whole (6.8%). The two Swiss companies achieving double-digit sales growth in FY2015 were watchmakers Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille.

Just as Italy is the global leader in fashion, Switzerland is second to none in luxury watch-making: Nine out of the ten Swiss companies in the Top 100 are watchmakers. The strength of their brands can be seen in their presence in jewellers and other distribution outlets for luxury watches around the world, as well as in their own growing store networks. Multiple luxury goods company Richemont for example obtains nearly 30% of its sales from its portfolio of luxury watch brands such as Piaget.

“This ongoing sales growth is a remarkable achievement, especially in the context of the 15% rise in value of the Swiss franc since January 2015, making their brands more expensive for customers in their important export markets. This resilience of Swiss luxury goods companies comes down to their positioning as all-rounders in contemporary fine watchmaking and their strategy of dividing sales evenly among geographic regions,” said Karine Szegedi. “The barriers to entry created by the brand heritage and the technical and design excellence of the Swiss luxury watchmakers are proving very hard to overcome.”