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Following a shocking Swiss Television report on the unacceptable conditions associated with the procurement of exotic animal leathers, the Executive Management of the Swatch Group has adopted the following measures: The Swatch Group FEPS (Far Eastern Procurement Service) Division will immediately attempt to determine if leather from the Far East is used and, should this prove to be the case, will undertake on-site inspections of all sources. Products from such doubtful sources as those described by Swiss Television have no place in the Swatch Group product offering. With its FEPS, Swatch Group has for many years maintained an efficient control group whose responsibility is to examine and monitor all suppliers to the Group (of packaging, accessories and equipment of all kinds, etc.) at regular intervals to ensure they are in conformance with Swatch Group requirements. The criteria to be enforced include, among others, the exclusion of child labor, acceptable social and environmental conditions at the relevant supplier companies, and, with immediate effect, acceptable handling and sourcing of animals by suppliers of leather and their local sources �C irrespective of the fact that exotic leathers comprise only a very small proportion of the leathers used by the Group and that nearly one hundred percent of the latter is sourced from controlled animal breeders in the United States.

Swatch Group expects robust demand to drive increased profits in 2010 after reporting strong results for December 2009 and through the first few weeks of the new year. Mid-range brands such as Tissot, Longines, and Rado have performed strongly even while some of the Swatch Group's luxury brands, such as Blancpain and Breguet, remain weak. Omega's high-profile role as the official timekeeper of the Vancouver Winter Olympics is also seen as boosting sales. The world's largest watchmaker is considered a barometer for the state of the industry, so this positive outlook is fueling hopes the sector isemerging from its sharpest drop in decline in some twenty years.Related PostsSwiss Watch Demand Drops in SeptemberSwiss Watch Industry Takes Beating in MaySwiss Watchmakers Hit the SkidsSwatch Numbers Worst in a DecadeSwiss Watch Industry in Crisis?Financial Crisis' Lastest Victim: Swiss Watch Exports, SalesSwiss Watch Exports Fall Sharply in Q1 2009