Watches of Switzerland bets on second-hand luxury

By Aatrayee Chatterjee

(Reuters) - Watches of Switzerland, seller of Rolex, Piguet and Cartier, outlined plans to more than double its annual profits by fiscal year 2028, spurred by growth in the United States and expansion into the booming second-hand luxury market.

Shares in the luxury retailer rose by as much as 14% in early trade on Tuesday as it sought to reassure investors after Rolex's purchase of retailer Bucherer in August raised concerns about its prospects.

Watches of Switzerland reported a 5% rise in quarterly revenues at constant currency, partly helped by a more than 80% surge in sales of pre-owned products.

A slowdown in China and uncertainty caused by interest rates in Europe and the United States have pressured the share price of luxury retailers.

But there has also been a surge in people seeking to sell as well as to buy second-hand luxury goods, benefiting companies such as Watches of Switzerland.

"We are excited by the opportunity available to us in the pre-owned market, particularly from the new Rolex Certified Pre-Owned programme, which we expect to deliver 20% of new Rolex in the U.S. and 10% in the UK by FY28," CEO Brian Duffy said.

Watches of Switzerland aims for group sales to surpass the 3 billion pound ($3.69 billion) milestone by the end of its fiscal 2028.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said the company's long-range revenue and profit plans were ahead of market expectations.

Duffy added the company sought significant growth potential in the luxury branded jewellery market and expected it to comprise a substantially larger share of total revenue as it expanded in the United States and leveraged partnerships with U.S. megabrands.

The London-listed company reiterated its fiscal year 2024 sales and profit forecast.

Luxury peer Richemont will report its interim results on Friday.

($1 = 0.8132 pounds)

(Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Varun H K and Barbara Lewis)