I spent the weekend poring over the latest annual report on the state of the Swiss AAA Breitling replica watches industry from Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult and three inescapable conclusions jump out of the data.
First, size matters.
Compare the performance of the top 25 Swiss watchmakers with the next 25 biggest that make up the top 50 and you find that the top 25 averaged growth of 53% from 2019 to 2023. The 25 in the second tier shrank on average by 5% over the five years.
Secondly, it is better to be privately-owned than publicly-traded.
Private watchmakers saw sales rise by an average of 43% over the five years since 2019. Those within the publicly-traded LVMH, Swatch Group, Richemont and Kering rose by a more modest 16%.
Thirdly, pitching four-figure luxury UK Breitling fake watches as affordable luxuries has not paid off.
The term affordable luxury may be part of the problem. Frederique Constant, Tissot, Rado and Longines are all comfortable being described in this way, but the evidence from sales figures says they need a rethink.
Sales for Frederique Constant have more than halved since 2019, Baume & Mercier is down 13% in comparison to five years ago, Rado is 37% smaller, Tissot is down 30% and Longines by 33%.
To the Swiss, a £1,500 to £3000 price tag may be considered affordable. To 99% of the population it is not.
Pricing quartz-based steel cheap Breitling replica watches or mechanicals housing mass-produced ETA or Sellita movements at £1,500 does not make them luxurious or affordable, just because the brands say so.
Capping or reducing production while increasing prices seems to have been the most likely path to success since the pandemic.
Breitling’s average retail price in 2021 was CHF 4,888 in 2021; a year when it manufactured 190,000 top Breitling copy watches, according to Morgan Stanley estimates. Two years later, the company made 12,000 fewer units in 2023, but the average retail price shot up to CHF 6,769.
Compare this to TAG Heuer, which by Morgan Stanley estimates made 460,000 Swiss movements replica Breitling watches in 2021 with an average retail price of CHF 2,095. By 2023, it made 390,000 but its average price had risen to only CHF 2,228.
Breitling and TAG Heuer were virtually tied for tenth place in a league table of Swiss manufacturers in 2021 with estimated turnover of CHF 680 million. Last year perfect Breitling super clone watches rose to ninth place, with sales of CHF 870 million while TAG Heuer dropped to 15th place with turnover of CHF 615 million.
High quality Breitling replica watches has managed to elevate itself above the affordable luxury morass while TAG Heuer has found itself stuck there.