London’s Bond Street is a broad church with Seiko and Grand Seiko the northernmost watch brands, closest to Oxford Street on the famous thoroughfare, and Richard Mille furthest south down near Piccadilly.
The constantly evolving street will welcome two giants next year, both under the stewardship of The Watches of Switzerland Group.
Europe’s largest Rolex megastore will occupy all three storeys of a historic property currently occupied by Gucci at No.34, and the UK’s largest Tudor boutique, a flagship store at No.1 Old Bond Street, will take up a plot on the corner with Piccadilly.
WoSG hoped to open the Rolex showroom this year, but Gucci has been slow to vacate the building, and CEO Brian Duffy told analysts yesterday that completion will now be in the new year.
Tudor will take over an entire unit currently occupied by WoSG-owned Mappin & Webb.
This gives WoSG more control over the timeline, so the schedule, which currently plans for the opening in the group’s FY2024 fourth quarter (February to April).
A spokesperson at the group could give no additional details at this stage.
The Mappin & Webb multibrand showroom is currently anchored by Rolex; one of three points of sale on Bond Street until recently.
Wempe closed its Bond Street store after losing Rolex. Watches of Switzerland runs a small boutique on the street, which will be closed or reassigned when the Rolex flagship opens, reducing the number of doors to one.
Source : WATCHPRO
