Swiss watchmaker Swatch's chief executive, Nick Hayek, backed his 2012 sales target of 8 billion Swiss francs ($8.1 billion) and downplayed concern Chinese demand for luxury watches may be cooling, in a newspaper interview.

Photo: Swatch

Hayek told German paper Handelsblatt Swatch was diversified across enough price ranges to weather softer demand from China for high-end watches.

"I am far more worried about the increasing influence of finance than I am about possible problems in China," Hayek said in an advance print of an interview set to appear Wednesday.

Swiss watch exports climbed 10.2 percent in real terms in May, representing a faster pace of growth than in April.

Worries persist that Chinese demand for the highest-priced segment of luxury goods, such as watches, will hit Swatch and rival Richemont.

Last year, growth in middle and lower-priced Swatch segments such as Certina, CK and Tissot and also the company's colourful namesake plastic watch helped offset slowing demand for high-end watches that hurt some competitors.