Omega retail partners in the UK start eyeing up new luxury cars or exotic holiday destinations in the years when a new James Bond film hits cinemas. The marketing surrounding a fresh outing for 007, and his association with Omega, always improves sales. The bigger the film, the more Omega sales rise, which is why […]
Posted inNEWS, UK
Scotland’s Kartel Watches set to open its first shop
Scotland’s Kartel Watches will open its first retail store in the historic coastal town of St Andrews in September. Located on Church St in the heart of the town known as the home of golf, as well as being the site of a well-respected University, the store will tell the story of the brand, showcase […]
Posted inEDITOR'S CHOICE, LEAD STORY, NEWS, Others, UK
EXCLUSIVE: Harrods chief merchant describes Brexit impact on exceptional summer of 2016
Central London’s luxury watch stores may never enjoy another summer like 2016 as post-Brexit jitters drove the value of the pound lower, making top end timepieces 25% cheaper than rival markets around the world and sucking in high-spending visitors from overseas. Helen David, chief merchant at Knightsbridge institution Harrods, suggests the spike should be considered […]
Posted inNEW PRODUCTS, NEWS, UK
British startup Sekford adds ladies models to its line up of minimalist dress watches
British startup Sekford has added ladies’ models to its Type 1A line up of minimalist dress watches. The company, which was founded in 2015, designs watches that draw on historic British codes, such as hair line bespoke numerals inspired by 18th century typographic touches found on British pocket watches. The watches are made in Switzerland. “Inspired by 18th and 19th century […]
Posted inNEWS, UK
Amazon Prime discounting day boosts online sales in July
UK online retail sales were up +11% year-on-year (YoY) in July, according to the latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. This was the lowest July growth rate for the Index in four years (since July 2013), although it was building on a high growth rate recorded in July last year (when it […]
Posted inEDITOR'S CHOICE, NEWS, UK, WATCHPRO AWARDS
Zeon supports WatchPro Awards for a second year
British watch business Zeon is sponsoring the WatchPro Awards for a second year. The company, which owns Ingersoll as a well as creating and distributing watches under license for Vivienne Westwood, Furla and Braun, views the WatchPro Awards as an important night for the British watch business to meet and celebrate its achievements. “We’re extremely […]
Posted inNEWS, UK
CMJ chairman promises to put members first as it re-focuses on core values
A root and branch review into the businesses of The Company of Master Jewellers will be completed in time for discussion at a board meeting next month. The review, which is being conducted by independent audit and accountancy firm Mazars, will be added to the views of CMJ members and suppliers that were canvassed at […]
Posted inEDITOR'S CHOICE, NEWS, UK
Yorkshire’s Weird Ape looks for 100 doors for its sub-£200 skeletonised mechanicals
Weird Ape, a watch company created by two Yorkshire-based entrepreneurs, is expecting to be stocked by around 100 stores by Christmas after it signed an agency agreement with ALM distribution. The company, now in its third year, started life producing ubiquitous Scandi-design quartz watches, but discovered the market for the sub-£100 watches saturated and re-focused […]
Posted inEDITOR'S CHOICE, NEWS, UK
Peter Harrington purrs at the opening of his first central Manchester boutique
Peter Harrington, co-owner of Harrington & Hallworth, has described his delight at opening the company’s first boutique in central Manchester. The business, run by Mr Harrington and Alf Hallworth, already operates prestige watch and jewellery stores in the Manchester satellite towns of Wilmslow and Ashton-under-Lyne. Mr Harrington remembers walking down King’s Street in Manchester as a […]
Posted inEDITOR'S CHOICE, NEWS, UK
Ralph Lauren abandons plans to build wholesale-to-retail channel for watches
Ralph Lauren has postponed plans to target retailers in the UK with its collections of luxury watches. WatchPro, which was given a presentation by Ralph Lauren at Baselworld about plans to target British jewellers for its watches, has learned that the plan has been shelved. “Due to the latest change on the top management at […]
Posted inNEWS, UK
Luxury watch sales help drive growth at pawnbroker H&T
Britain’s biggest pawnbroker, H&T, says that its fast-growing watch business and rising gold price were key contributors to a 62% increase in profits for the first six months of 2017. Sales for the first half of the year rose 4.1% to £49.05 million, putting the company on track to hit £100 million turnover this year. […]
Posted inEDITOR'S CHOICE, JOBS, LEAD STORY, NEWS, UK
Citizen Watch UK managing director given control of Frederique Constant, Alpina and Bulova
Mark Robinson, managing director of Citizen Watch UK, has been given the new position of group managing director of Citizen Watch United Kingdom, Ltd. Mr Robinson, who has been with the company for 20 years, will have overall strategic responsibility for all Citizen-owned brands in the UK, which now include Frederique Constant, Alpina and Bulova. […]
Posted inEDITOR'S CHOICE, LEAD STORY, NEWS, UK
Harrods expansion of Fine Watch Room will be complete by Spring 2018
Harrods says that the redevelopment and expansion of its Fine Watch Room will begin later this month and be completed by Spring 2018. The watch room will remain open throughout the project, with disruption for retailers and customers kept to a minimum. Architect Rundell Associates has designed an entirely new environment that aims to keep Harrods at […]
Posted inINTERNATIONAL, NEWS
Baume & Mercier rides pillion with Indian Motorcycles to produce limited editions
Baume & Mercier and Indian Motorcycle have signed a partnership agreement that will lead to a number of limited edition watches that highlight companies’ core values and passions. Indian Motorcycle is the oldest motorbike company in America, and a business ripe with stories of historic races, speed records and iconic bikes. The first limited edition […]
Posted inJOBS, NEWS, UK
PEOPLE MOVES: Baume et Mercier’s UK head leapfrogs to Watches of Switzerland
Philip Poole, Baume & Mercier’s UK & Ireland brand manager, is joining Aurum Holdings. He will join the management team of the flagship Watches of Switzerland store at 155 Regent Street. Mr Poole’s last day at the Richemont-owned brand will be August 17. The achievements of Mr Poole were recognised in 2015 when he made […]
Posted inEDITOR'S CHOICE, NEWS, Research, UK
Visitor numbers to WatchPro.com surge by 72% in a year
The number of unique users in a single month for WatchPro.com has topped 44,000 individuals in July. Total visitors increased by over 72% from 25,667 in July 2016 to 44,256 in 2017. WatchPro.com is the most visited specialist watch website in the UK; read by more individuals than even the major glossy watch magazine websites. Alexa.com, […]
Posted inLEAD STORY, NEWS, UK
Beaverbrooks pays more corporation tax than Amazon in the UK
Beaverbrooks paid more in corporation tax in their most recently reported financial year than the Amazon in the UK. Amazon UK Services, a business with a recorded turnover in 2016 of £1.5 billion in the UK, paid tax on profit on ordinary activities of £1.34 million. Beaverbrooks, which notched sales of £119 million in the […]
Posted inNEWS, Others, UK
Kyboe! watches brought to the UK by Zircontime
Kyboe!, a watch brand designed for the Love Island generation of sun-soaked Gen-Zers, is coming to the UK thanks to a distribution agreement with Zircontime. The watches, which are often over-sized, brightly coloured and covered in Swarovski crystals, are the creation of a Netherlands-based company, but have enjoyed some of their strongest sales in holiday […]
Posted inINTERNATIONAL, LEAD STORY, NEWS, UK
BREAKING NEWS: Aurum Holdings buys major US multiple for $105 million
Britain’s biggest jewellery and watch retailer, Aurum Holdings, has acquired Mayors Jewelers, a chain of 17 prestige jewellers in Florida and Georgia, USA, for $104.6 million (£81 million). Mayors gives Aurum Holdings a significant foothold in the US market, including the real estate and resources of a headquarters office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Aurum Holdings […]
Posted inEDITOR'S CHOICE, NEWS, UK
Cluse will expand from watches into jewellery from next week
Cluse is following its rival Olivia Burton into creating a range of jewellery that will launch on August 17. The Scandi-style watch brand, which is distributed in the UK by Peers Hardy, has teased its Instagram followers with an image showing how a new range of jewellery will work layered up on the wrist with […]