Luxury-watch show opens amid tough times

Singapore

THIS year's annual Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), one of the two biggest luxury-watch trade fairs, kicks off in Geneva on Monday against a backdrop of high costs and low growth in many key markets, including Singapore.

Sales at the Richemont Group, which carries 11 of the 16 brands showcasing new timepieces at the week-long SIHH, have notched a growth of just 2 per cent from a year ago for the six months to last Sept 30 because of a "difficult environment" in many markets; sales were up 4 per cent over the corresponding period in 2013.

Revenue growth of the Swiss luxury group, which own brands like Cartier, Panerai and Vacheron Constantin, was flat in constant exchange rates in the last three months of 2014, making for the …