Watches of Switzerland revises full year guidance
Watches of Switzerland Group has revised its full year guidance despite it making a positive start to the early part of its third quarter.
In a trading statement, the owner of the Watches of Switzerland, Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths, said it had experienced volatile trading in the run-up to and beyond Christmas due to a slowdown in consumer spending in the luxury market.
The group now expects these conditions to remain for the rest of its financial year.
While trading in the US has remained strong with continued double-digit sales growth, the group said conditions in the UK have impacted a broad range of luxury watch brands and non-branded jewellery.
The group now expects full year revenue to come in at between £1.53 billion and £1.55 billion compared to a previous guidance of £1.65 billion to £1.7 billion,
Meanwhile, constant currency growth has been downgraded to 2.3% from a prior 8% to 11%.
Brian Duffy, chief executive of Watches of Switzerland, said: “The festive period was particularly volatile this year for the luxury sector, with consumers allocating spend to other categories such as fashion, beauty, hospitality and travel. Whilst we are disappointed with this trend, we are encouraged by our market share gains in both the US and UK.
“I would like to thank our colleagues for continuing to provide high quality service and support to our clients against this challenging backdrop.”
