Last year was quite a positive one for the Ukrainian watch market. The political changes in the country cleared the atmosphere and the players on the market became more open and optimistic. This optimism converted, for example, into 75 million Swiss francs spent on importing 60,000 watches from Switzerland, that’s 55% more than in 2005.
The Ukrainian consumer prefers multifunctional, complicated mechanical watches, sometimes in gold and platinum with diamonds. The elite of the country are becoming more experienced in buying luxury products - Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Chopard, Francois-Paul Journe, Girard-Perregaux, Korloff, Perrelet, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin, and other representatives of the watch Olympus are the most welcomed names among the Ukrainian beau monde. To attract consumers’ attention to a brand the national agents organize shows, presentations and open boutiques of the highest level in Kiev: Piaget, Korloff, Chopard, Montblanc, to name a few. And, of course, the only boutique of Ulysse Nardin in Eastern Europe where customers can see the complete collection of this prominent brand, including its famous Trilogy of Time.



Europa Star started its Ukrainian edition in the Russian language at the beginning of 2006 - it is circulated to all Ukrainian trade professionals for luxury watches and brands as well as to select consumers and aficionados.


It is clear that the purchasing capacities of the average Ukrainian man are lower than the average European, but today the welfare of the people is much better. The market is mature enough for such brands as Edox, Eterna, Louis Erard, Maurice Lacroix, Oris, Raymond Weil, etc. In terms of quantity, Candino, Delma, Festina, Frederique Constant, Tissot and Titoni, brands offering watches at reasonable prices, are certainly the leaders.
As most readers are aware, after the collapse of the USSR there have been no watch companies in the Ukraine. But today we can proudly say that a young Ukrainian watch brand, Kleynod, is one of the best developing brands on the market.
There is an increased interest in French, German and Italian watches. Christian Bernard, Elite, Elysee, Jacques Lemans, L’Chic, etc. and fashion brands are popular among young and fashion-oriented Ukrainian women. Last year saw the entry of the Italian Morellato-Sector Group into the market with its great selection of fashion brands. We can hope that they will find a niche very soon because there is a lot of interest at this moderately priced level.
The first public event at which Morellato-Sector Group presented its product range here was ‘Kiev Watch Salon 2006’, which is the main strategic ground of the Ukrainian watch business. The exhibition has developed very quickly and the exhibition grew by 40% in space and 30% in exhibitors confirming the general growth trend of the Ukrainian watch market.
At the same exhibition there was an historical event: the first meeting of the members of the Ukrainian Watch Association. Nineteen Ukrainian companies, representing almost all of the dom-estic watch market – production, wholesale and retail trade, specialized watch magazines (Europa Star and Watch, Style & Time) – expressed the will to unite and create an organization, able to solve the multitude of problems that have accumulated in the watch sector of the economy since the country’s independence.
The President of the Ukrainian Watch Association, Yuriy Titarenko explains the aims of the organization: “The Ukrainian watch industry has accumulated a lot of problems. There are no stat-istics, watches as consumer goods suffer tough competition from other image merchandise, and the players in the Ukrainian watch market suffer from the lack of skilled specialists. First of all we have to fill in the information vacuum, which has arisen in the market. For this purpose our organization has launched a website (www.uwa.com.ua). Its aim is to inform watch professionals and aficionados about the events within the industry. Here they can find answers to questions about legislation, brands, retailers and boutiques, services offered by the Association and so forth. There is also a section especially for brands just launching in the Ukrainian market. As a public organization we have the possibility of influencing the state authorities and we want to assure all the companies working in the Ukrainian watch market of the clear and fair conditions offered to every watch company. Today the Ukrainian Watch Association is only just beginning, but the potential is huge.”


Source: Europa Star April-May 2007 Magazine Issue