The Swiss competition watchdog on Thursday restricted Swatch Group's shipme...
) shipments of watch mechanisms to other companies ahead of a final decision in mid-2020 in a long-running dispute.
The world’s biggest watchmaker is also an important supplier of watch movements that power mechanical timepieces. If it cannot sell them, Swatch itself and its customers, from Cartier maker Richemont to independently owned Chopard and Breitling, may face problems. The decision creates uncertainty over supplies at a time when Swiss watchmakers face competition from smartwatches and slowing demand in key market Hong Kong. Swiss watch export data on Thursday showed shipments to Hong Kong fell 27% in November.A Swatch Group spokesman said the lion’s share of the watch movements sold by Swatch’s ETA unit was absorbed by companies with more than 250 staff and the group expected not to be able to deliver any movements to third parties next year.
“Is there really going to be a shortage of watch movements? I’m not sure. There’s also a grey market and brands have built inventories,” he told Reuters.The question of how to end Swatch Group’s historical quasi-monopoly on mechanical watch movements has kept the competition authority busy for years.
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