Christopher Ward, the biggest U.K.-based producer of Swiss-made watches, says it will cut prices for U.S. customers hit by weighty tariffs on Swiss imports by shifting its corporate and distribution structure in its biggest market. The company, best known as a direct-to-consumer brand making design-driven, value-priced models including the Bel Canto, Twelve, and Loco, has made its U.S.-based corporate entity the official distribution center for its products in the U.S. That will allow Christopher Ward to reduce the effective import value of its products on which tariffs are applied.Â
Coupled with a new deal with courier DHL to import its watches in bulk rather than previously delivering watches direct to customers, the company says it will be able to cut prices for its U.S. customers by about 29% and back to levels those clients were paying before 39% tariffs came in to effect on Aug. 7. Chief Executive Officer Mike France, in an interview, says the imposition of the U.S. tariffs accelerated the company’s plans to re-organize its structure. Christopher Ward’s business and sales “have been moving sharply westward for some time,” he says, referring to the U.S., which now accounts for more than 45% of the company’s sales. Known for its transparent pricing model and vow not to price its watches more than three times the cost of production, France says the move to roll prices back in line in the U.S. was inevitable. “It’s part and parcel of who we are,” he says.Â
