Prognosis
Swiss Watch Industry Already in Crisis. Now Geneva Show Is Off
- Baselworld show evaluating options as coronavirus spreads
- Industry is reeling as Chinese buy half of its production
A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past an Omega SA store in Hong Kong.
Photographer: Ivan Abreu/BloombergThe Geneva watch show was canceled and the rival Baselworld trade fair is considering whether to go ahead amid the outbreak of coronavirus, further complicating a year to forget for the Swiss watch industry.
Swiss watchmakers are bracing for fallout from the viral disease that has killed more than 2,700 people in China and led to the quarantine of some 50 million of its citizens. The country’s consumers buy about one of every two timepieces Switzerland produces.