Corum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Reuters: “China Haidian Holdings (0256.HK) may not stop at this week’s acquisition of Swiss watchmaker Corum as it seeks a foothold in high-end timepieces popular with Chinese consumers.
Chinese appetite for Swiss luxury watches has exploded in recent years, boosting sales at industry leaders Swatch Group (UHR.VX) and Richemont (CFR.VX).
But growth, particularly in top-end watches, has ground to a halt as the Chinese economy loses steam and a crackdown on giving expensive gifts as favours hurts demand.
China Haidian, which bought Swiss watch brand Eterna in 2011, said on Wednesday it was acquiring Corum Watches for 86 million Swiss francs ($90.8 million) to develop its Swiss brand portfolio and attract more Chinese customers.
“We may consider additional acquisitions in the future to grow our business if an opportunity arises,” Hon Kwok Lung, chairman of China Haidian, said on Friday in written answers to questions from Reuters.
He said no purchases were planned for now.
Hon said China Haidian wanted to use its retail network in China to help distribute and market Corum watches in China, as it did with Eterna.
Eterna has said its revenue grew in 2012, but product and market development costs brought it a net loss of HK$69.28 million. It expects Eterna to break even in a couple of years.”
via China Haidian may buy more watchmakers after Corum | Reuters.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 