Watches in Sweden

PROSPECTS

Daniel Wellington continues to make consumers tick thanks to its affordable yet luxurious positioning

The key factor behind the continued success of sales leader Daniel Wellington is its strong knowledge and effective targeting of its customer base. The company’s main clientele is millennials, who are still in the early stages of their careers and generally lack the disposable income to support luxurious purchases.

The category struggles as competition strengthens from smart wearables

The watches category is stagnating in Sweden. In 2019, value sales posted minimal growth while volume sales declined for a third consecutive year.

New payment technology could make analogue watches more attractive than smart watches

New technology drove many consumers away from watches to smart wearables over the review period, a trend that watch manufacturers are definitely not unaware of. As Swedish retail is moving rapidly away from using cash, a key benefit of a smart watch is that the device allows the user to pay for goods electronically.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

The Swatch Group is still number one for watches as it has the broadest appeal

The Swatch Group continues to lead watches sales, although Daniel Wellington AB has made rapid gains in recent years. Nevertheless, the price difference between brands from The Swatch Group and the Daniel Wellington brand means that The Swatch Group does not need to increase demand to the same extent to boost value sales.

Swiss watches fall out of favour, while Daniel Wellington grows thanks to its successful millennial-targeting strategy

Swiss watchmakers continue to struggle, with sales and exports to Sweden decreasing in 2018. Indeed, 2018 saw Sweden fall out of the top 30 biggest export markets for Swiss watches.

Internet retailing becomes more prominent, squeezing sales among small watch stores

In addition to Daniel Wellington, websites such as uret.se are helping to boost internet retailing sales within watches.

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