Showing little signs of slowing down, the luxury watch industry has reported yet another rise in exports at the start of 2012.
Showing little signs of slowing down, the luxury watch industry has reported yet another rise in exports at the start of 2012.
While Chinese tourist and China have always been a big driver of export growth, U.S. and Japan are also showing an acceleration of exports. Brazil has been noted as having potential to become one of the top 15 markets in the world, but duties and import taxes remain a large obstacle. Taxes can currently be up to almost 49% and if a way could be found to reduce those, the countries market would grow at a phenomenal rate because of the Latin American desire for luxury products. Some watch brands are exploring ways to work around the trade barriers, such at Parmigiani who is focusing on Brazilian tourist who travel to the U.S. and Europe.
But the biggest triumph could be seen with sponsorship deals signed by Parmigiani and the Brazilian Football Federation. Not only covering the Olympics this year, but also the World Cup that will take place in Brazil in 2014 – Parmigiani has created special edition watches designed with the yellow, green and blue colors representing the Brazilian team and starting at $25,000. The first of the specially designed watches was given to striker Ronaldo after his retirement last year. Backing the desire for luxury goods, Brazil is known for having a tremendous amount of new millionaires, with more being created everyday.
