It has been a tumultuous 2025 for posh timepiece seller Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG), with the shares having lost 40% of their value as of the end of last week.

Fears over the impact of hefty (39%) US tariffs on Swiss exports, including high-end watches, have seen the stock price hit its lowest level since late 2020.

The group’s latest trading update salved some of those concerns, with chief executive Brian Duffy noting strong trading in both the UK and US markets since the start of the new financial year in May and a positive performance from recent acquisition Roberto Coin.

Duffy also assured investors the firm would avoid any ‘material’ impact from US tariffs in the first half of the financial year after its brand partners front-loaded shipments.

However, that leaves the question of what happens when the firm works through that inventory with analysts at Shore Capital describing it as ‘a delay rather than a mitigation’.

The big unknowns for investors are what the impact on demand will be if and when higher prices do come into effect, and whether the firm will have to absorb some of the tariff impact in its own margins in order to support sales. 

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