Watches in Turkey

PROSPECTS

Smart watches have little impact on sales of watches

Smart watches did not cut into sales of mechanical watches in Turkey in 2019 as smart watches are not perceived as being as chic as regular watches and they generally have a toy-like appearance. This is particularly pertinent in women’s watches as females are more inclined to value the fashion aspects of watches.

Sports-orientated watches become more popular with sports people and gym users

The global health and wellness trend is also taking hold in Turkey, with more citizens actively participating in sports or joining gyms. Sports-orientated watches are therefore becoming more popular and supporting growth of watches in general.

Devaluation of the local currency leads to price increases

The devaluation of the Turkish lira in the latter half of 2018 led to increasing average unit prices in 2018, and even steeper hikes in 2019. Although this led to strong retail value growth in both years, overall retail volume growth was sluggish as many consumers delayed purchases due to the higher unit prices.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Watches characterised by global producers, with most distributed by local companies

Casio, TAG Heuer and Seiko were the leading brands in watches in 2018, while the majority of all brands present were also international. Although international brands continue to characterise watches in Turkey, there is one important domestic watch brand present, Nacar, by Konyali Saat San Paz.

Saat ve Saat remains the leader in watches

Saat ve Saat maintained its leading position in watches in 2018. The player distributes more than 30 international brands, including TAG Heuer, Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Diesel, and DKNY.

Counterfeit watches remain a threat to sales of genuine products

The main threat to sales of watches in Turkey over the forecast period is likely to remain the relatively high levels of counterfeit products available, with these illicit sales expected to continue limiting sales of legitimate products through approved suppliers. However, there are still no major barriers for the clandestine import and distribution of such products in Turkey and this poses a major threat to legitimate sales of watches.

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