With the number of cases rising across Europe and more employees begin self isolating or working from home, Coronavirus is having a huge affect on day to day life. Boris Johnson advised for pubs, clubs and theatres to close and as a result of that, other non-essential business have begun to follow suit. Yesterday it was announced that Selfridges closed its doors due to the outbreak, but they were not the only ones within the Jewellery, Watches and accessory sector. For those watch and jewellery followers, the questions is, How has the Coronavirus affected the Watch Industry?
We already know that events have been postponed, such as Baselworld, which was announced a few weeks ago and there may be many more cancellations to come.
Yesterday morning, Rolex announced the closure of three factories but since then have halted Swiss production, employees have been told that the closure would be for 10 days. Hublot have followed suit, also stopping production, however, they have not given a time scale for when production will start again.
“By way of precaution, and to protect our personnel, we have decided to go beyond our government’s current recommendations, and close our manufacture’s production site for the time being. This is a temporary measure that will be applied until further notice,”
Hublot
With the halt of production for two major manufacturers within the industry, it is a strong possibility that other brands will follow suit. There are some brands already taking precautions but trying to run as normal, Paul Hewitt have sent their staff to home based working with a few pictures of empty offices on their social media yesterday.
Thomas Sabo have decided to close many of its stores in critical areas. They have advised the stores that remain open will regulate under the governments advise, with the health and safety of staff at the forefront of their decisions. Danish watch and jewellery brand, Skagen posted on their Instagram yesterday stating that their employees wherever possible would be working from home and any onsite based jobs would be carried out with government advised precautions.
At the moment, an overall analysis of the situation within the watch and jewellery sector, although stores are closing and staff are working from home, online seems to be less affected with normal delivery and ordering capabilities within the UK.
Our store, James Moore Jewellers, will remain open, however, we are reviewing this on a daily basis. Our online store, First Class Watches, is running as normal, however, it is suspected that there could be delays with international delivery. Both James Moore Jewellers and First Class Watches have extended their returns policy from 30 to 60 days.
If you have any questions in regards to our running and delivery then please don’t hesitate to get in touch via phone, email or on our website.
