The company plans to halt all consumer-facing activity this summer, while Lightbox factory operations will cease by the end of the year.
Swatch Group Sees Sales, Profit Sink in 2016
The company that makes Omega, Longines and Tissot watches reported an 11 percent drop in sales and 47 percent decrease in net income last year.

Bienne, Switzerland--Swatch Group reported a drop in net sales and income in 2016 amid a “very challenging economic environment” in which watch sales continued to decline.
In its full-year financial report released Thursday, the company said net sales were $7.58 billion, an 11 percent decrease year-over-year at both current and constant exchange rates.
Net income was $594.9 million, a 47 percent drop, while operating income was $806.8 million, which is a decrease of 45 percent over 2015.
The company said that 2016 was “marked by worldwide turbulence in a very challenging economic environment.”
The decrease in demand for watches, a trend which already was being seen at the end of 2015, intensified last year, particularly in the first half of the year, Swatch Group said, and the terrorist attacks in France, Belgium, Germany and Turkey, as well as new legal regulations in some countries, led to shifts in buying.
The company added that the slightly positive trends in the U.S. dollar, Japanese yen and euro were “almost completely neutralized” by the weakening of the British pound that resulted from the Brexit vote last summer and the devalued Chinese renminbi, as well as the continued overvaluing of the Swiss franc.
Region-wise, Swatch Group said its sales in North America were down slightly, and sales dropped in Europe as well due to a decrease in the number of tourists. Sales in Middle (Central) America were up.
The company said that sales have normalized in Hong Kong in recent months, in both retail and wholesale. On mainland China and in the Middle East, positive demand in recent months has led to a double-digit growth.
Healthy growth in the Middle East and Asia is expected for 2017, as well as in the United States and Europe.
In 2017, Swatch Group said it will focus on new product launches from the company’s brands, including a new slim Skin collection and the second generation of the Swatch Bellamy as a contactless payment device.
The company also said it will launch smartwatches that run on its own Swiss-made operating system, according to a Bloomberg report, a move that will challenge systems like Android Wear from Google and the Apple Watch.
Tissot will introduce a model near the end of 2018 that uses the system and also will be able to connect to small objects and other wearables.
The Latest

Following weekend negotiations, the tax on Chinese goods imported into the United States will drop by 115 percent for the next 90 days.

“Artists’ Jewelry: From Cubism to Pop, the Diane Venet Collection” is on view at the Norton Museum of Art through October.

Gain access to the most exclusive and coveted antique pieces from trusted dealers during Las Vegas Jewelry Week.

The deadline to submit is June 16.


Moti Ferder stepped down Wednesday and will not receive any severance pay, parent company Compass Diversified said.

Lichtenberg partnered with luxury platform Mytheresa on two designs honoring the connection between mothers and daughters.

Supplier Spotlight Sponsored by GIA

The miner announced plans to recommence open-pit mining at Kagem.

Michel Desalles allegedly murdered Omid Gholian inside World of Gold N Diamond using zip ties and then fled the country.

Associate Editor Lauren McLemore shares her favorite looks from a night of style inspired by Black dandyism.

Sponsored by Instappraise

CEO Beth Gerstein discussed the company’s bridal bestsellers, the potential impact of tariffs, and the rising price of gold.

The brand’s first independent location outside of Australia has opened in Beverly Hills, California.

Cathy Marsh will lead the jewelry company’s efforts in the upper Midwest and western United States.

The company has multiple strategies for dealing with tariffs, though its CEO said moving manufacturing to the U.S. is not one of them.

Connecting with your customers throughout the year is key to a successful holiday marketing push.

Its commercial-quality emerald sale held last month totaled more than $16 million, up from about $11 million in September 2024.

National Jeweler Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff joined Michael Burpoe to talk tariffs, consumer confidence, and the sky-high price of gold.

Designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey made the piece as an homage to the 2025 gala’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”

Expanded this year to include suppliers, JA’s 2025 list honors 40 up-and-coming professionals in the jewelry industry.

Located in Fort Smith, it’s the Mid-South jeweler’s first store in Northwest Arkansas.

The episode about the family-owned jeweler will premiere May 17.

The Houston-based jeweler’s new 11,000-square-foot showroom will include a Rolex boutique.

The turquoise and diamond tiara hasn’t been on the market since it was purchased by Lord Astor in 1930.

“The Duke Diamond” is the largest diamond registered at the Arkansas park so far this year.

The childhood craft of making dried pasta necklaces for Mother’s Day is all grown up as the 14-karat gold “Forever Macaroni” necklace.