According to the report of the Federation of the Swiss watch industry for the first quarter of this year, the United Arab Emirates entered the top ten importers of the world of Swiss watches. The total purchase value of watches by residents of the UAE was, for the indicated period, US $ 208 million, while the total purchase value for 2010 was US $ 686.4 million, which demonstrates a rather promising development prospect for this trade sector in the near future.
Given that the retail sector is one of the most viable and sustainable in the UAE, luxury, local, regional, and international buyers have made Swiss watches one of the most sought after items, gifts, and collectibles.
The popularity of luxury watch brands represented by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons in the UAE, such as Rolex, Patek Phillipe and Audemars Piguet, is returning and gaining momentum. The volume of Swiss watch exports to the UAE continued to increase in March of this year by 11.1%, despite a strong leap that reached 37.9% in March 2010. Thus, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are today the two largest consumer markets for Swiss watch manufactures in the Middle East region, which “absorb” 6% of their world exports.
