Watches of Switzerland revenues jump 17.8% in Q1

Watches of Switzerland has reported a 17.6% increase in total revenue to £209.4m for the three months to 28 July 2019.

The group also saw “strong” like-for-like growth of 10.8% during the period, with sales increasing by 11.5% and 8.7% in the UK and US respectively. During the last three months, Watches of Switzerland opened a showroom in the new Wynn Boston resort in the US and relocated and refurbished its Brighton showroom in the UK.

In its outlook for the rest of the year, the retailer said there while there are some “moving parts”, overall its capital project programme is broadly in line with previous guidance. It added that the luxury watch market in the UK and US “remain strong”, but noted “ongoing” wider macro-economic uncertainty in both regions.

CEO Brian Duffy said: “Our first quarter as a listed business saw continued strong underlying growth in both the UK and US supported by the expansion of our showroom portfolio. Our focus on store upgrades and store customer service, supported by increasing digital and social marketing and closer collaboration with brand partners, is working.

“We have made good progress with our recently commenced Mayors investment programme, implementing new showroom formats and are very pleased to open the first ever Audemars Piguet mono-brand boutique in our new Lenox store in Atlanta.”