Competition in watches

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32967, 13 July 1972, Page 9

Competition in watches

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright)

GENEVA.

The Swiss watch industry, worried about its falling share of the world market, is considering closer ties with other West European manufacturers to stave off competition from Japan, the United States and the Soviet Union.

Switzerland is still the world’s leading producer of watches, with timepieces long valued for their precision and quality.

But the Swiss share of world production has fallen in the last 20 years from 52 per cent to less than 45 per cent.

The watch industry is one of the mainstays of the country’s economy. CO-OPERATION SOUGHT

The president of the Swiss Horological Foundation (Mr Gerard Bauer) says that cooperation among all West European watch industries is necessary to meet the competition. Writing in the European Free Trade Area Bulletin, he said the relative importance of European watch production in the world had declined in the last few years. It fell from 70.6 per cent of world production in 1950 to just under 60 per cent in 1969. “The E.E.C. countries feel as much, if not more, than we do the pressure of the dynamic and highly-concen-trated industries of Japan and the United States on an always-growing number of markets, and even in Europe,” Mr Bauer wrote. He said that the Swiss and French watch industries, mainly situated around their common border, were already largely inter-dependent in technical, industrial, commercial aspects. “Faced with the increasing competition of the Japanese and Russian industries, they can and must make common cause if they wish to maintain their dearlybought positions on European and world markets,” said Mr Bauer.

He also urged co-operation with the West German, Italian and British watch industries.

France, he said, was a surplus producer of certain mechanical parts, West Ger-

many turned out more dials and exterior parts than it needed and exported them to France and Switzerland. Britain was strong in production of such things as instrument panels, of which few were manufactured in other European countries. About 95 per cent of Swiss watch production is sold abroad. JAPANESE SALES UP

Japanese exports have been rising steadily as the quality of their watches have improved and world markets have been feeling the impact of competitive Japanese pricing. The Swiss watch industry is working on technical innovations to meet the challenge, as well as stressing its long tradition and reputation for reliability.

One new design going on to the market is an electronic wrist watch, another, which went on sale last year, has many of its main parts made from plastic, reducing manufacturing costs.