Same-store monthly watch sales rose 18 percent in January to $261 million, compared with January 2009, according to the LGI Network January Time Tracker Newsletter, which noted that the increase excludes the thousands of retailers who exited the business over the past year.

Higher-end watches that retail for $5,000 and above represented 60 percent of the total dollar value of watches sold. Timepieces in the $5,000 to $9,999 range represented 21 percent of total sales in terms of dollar value, the same percentage of sales they represented in January 2009. The $10,000 to $24,999 represented 16 percent of the total dollars pie (up from 12 percent in January 2009). Watches priced above $25,000 shone as the year started, representing 21 percent of the total $261 million in January watch sales (up from 20 percent last year).

The LGI newsletter noted that LGI reports same-store growth figures in order to enable retailers to more easily compare their own operations to these figures. Same-store growth only accounts for the growth in stores that stayed open since 2009—by all accounts a tough year that left many jewelers struggling and some closing shop.

“While we will continue to adhere to this same-store approach, it's worth noting that relative to last year, a number of large institutional retailers and several thousand small independent storefronts exited the business, leading to a more challenging overall performance picture,” the newsletter said.

Same-store unit sales were up 14 percent to 215,800 units sold during the month. (Notably, last year's figures reflected 262,700 units sold, reflecting the larger number of retailers included.) The majority of watches sold in terms of units (35 percent) were priced between $150 and $299.99 at retail. The next top range in terms of unit sales was the $300 to $499.99 price-point range, which accounted for 22 percent of sales, the newsletter said.

The LGI Network provides marketing and sales information to the world's leading luxury goods retailers, manufacturers and distributors. LGI launched its initial service, Time Tracker, in February 2004, which focuses on the U.S.-branded watch market.

Source: www.lginetwork.com - www.nationaljeweler.com