ZURICH (Reuters) -Swatch (UHR.SW) will hike its costs in america by between 5% and 15% after the 39% tariff President Donald Trump imposed on Switzerland final month, the Swiss watchmaker’s Chief Government Nick Hayek mentioned in a newspaper interview.
Hayek informed the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper on the weekend that the U.S. tariffs could possibly be mitigated by switch costs, margins and the price of the corporate’s merchandise.
“Relying on the model, we’ll enhance costs within the vary of 5 to fifteen %. However since we even have a robust presence in Canada and Mexico, there will probably be alternatives there too for American customers,” Hayek mentioned.
Swatch’s merchandise are additionally represented on a whole bunch of Caribbean cruise ships, usually obligation free, he added.
All informed, Swatch was performing effectively in america, mentioned Hayek, whose firm final week started promoting a particular version watch that lampoons Trump’s tariffs.
“As per the top of August, we have been up round 15% in native forex throughout all manufacturers. People are persevering with to purchase – even after worth will increase,” he mentioned.
Hayek highlighted the MoonSwatch Moonshine Gold watch, which he mentioned now prices $450 as an alternative of $400.
“Naturally, American prospects weren’t blissful about that, however additionally they understood that it wasn’t our fault, however reasonably the results of U.S. coverage,” he mentioned.
(Reporting by Zurich Newsroom, Modifying by Friederike Heine)
