What you need to know
- Apple doesn't share its sales figures.
- But its wearables category goes from strength to strength.
- A new report claims Apple sold more watches than the entire Swiss watch industry.
Apple doesn't break down its Apple Watch sales, but a new report claims that the company sold more watch units than the entire Swiss watchmaking business combined last year.
That report comes from Strategy Analytics with the firm believing Apple sold almost 31 million units worldwide during 2019. By comparison, Swiss outfits shipped around 21 million watches.
Just as encouraging for Apple is the news that it reportedly experienced considerable growth, too. 2018 saw 22.5 million units sold. Conversely, the Switch watch business actually saw its sales numbers fall. According to Steven Waltzer of Strategy Analytics, it's all down to younger people making the move towards smartwatches. And Apple caters to them better than anyone.
Traditional Swiss watch makers, like Swatch and Tissot, are losing the smartwatch wars. Apple Watch is delivering a better product through deeper retail channels and appealing to younger consumers who increasingly want digital wristwear. The window for Swiss watch brands to make an impact in smartwatches is closing. Time may be running out for Swatch, Tissot, TAG Heuer, and others.
It's difficult to know how accurate any of these numbers are, of course. But while it always pays to be skeptical, these are the best numbers we have to go on right now. And they don't look great for the likes of Swatch and co.
