Japanese Watchmakers Turn To Luxury Items To Boost Sales >

03 august 2006

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - Japanese watchmakers are turning to luxury watches to boost declining sales.

The Asahi Shimbun says sales of watches dropped to 45 million pieces in 2005 down from about 70 million pieces in 1998. Analysts attribute the fall at least in part to the spread of cellphones, which have a clock function.

But in terms of profit, the $5.15 billion sales in watches in 2005 remains unchained from five years earlier because sales of luxury watches are expanding.

High-end brands such as Rolex and other Swiss brands are posting big profits.

The Japan Clock and Watch Association estimates that Swiss watches share at least 70 percent of total sales in terms of value while domestic brands account to only 20 percent.

Japanese companies, such as Seiko Watch Corp. and Citizen Watch Co., are introducing luxury watches, targeting fashionable middle-aged businessmen who have a degree of financial latitude.

The Tobu Department Store Co. outlet in Tokyo's Toshima Ward has since autumn seen a sharp increase in sales of high-quality Japanese watches, particularly among middle-aged men.