We were already telling you about this some time ago, when in 2019 the number of Apple Watches distributed worldwide exceeded for the first time that of traditional watches produced by the Swiss industry over the whole year.
Apple Watch, sales 2.4 times higher than the Swiss watch industry
This time, the connected watch from Apple sold in 2021 twice as much as watches from traditional Swiss watchmaking. As a reminder, the Apple Watch appeared only 8 years ago, in September 2014. While in 2018 23 million Apple Watches were sold worldwide against 24 million Swiss watches, in 2021 the steam is totally reversed with 38 million Apple watches against 16 million Swiss models (source: Statista).
The word to Steven Waltzer, analyst at Strategy Analytics
“Traditional Swiss watch manufacturers, such as Swatch and Tissot, are losing the smartwatch wars, commented Steven Waltzer, analyst at Strategy Analytics, already in 2019. Apple offers a better product thanks to a more distribution circuit developed and attracts a younger clientele who are more interested in wearing digital wristwatches.”