BASEL, Switzerland — Tourneau is taking its watch franchise to Asia.
The New York-based watch retailer said at a press conference Friday at Baselworld: The Watch & Jewelry Show here that it inked an agreement with Peace Mark (Holdings) Ltd. and International Watch Group to form a joint venture company called Peace Mark Tourneau (Holdings) Ltd.
The new company will open 30 luxury watch stores under the Tourneau name in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan within the next five years.
This summer, the firm will open a 4,000-square-foot store in Shanghai that is already under construction. Next up is a 10,000-square-foot store, also in Shanghai, then one in Beijing in time for the 2008 Olympic Games.
“Thirty percent of the population lives in the city and has significant disposable income….The Chinese people want the real thing,” said Patrick Chau, chairman of Peace Mark (Holdings).
Chau projects that, within three years, the firm will open a flagship to rival that of the New York and Las Vegas Tourneau stores, which are 16,000 and 17,000 square feet, respectively.
“There were lots of circumstances that have led to the formation of the joint venture,” said Chau. “It’s a huge and expanding market. Hong Kong and China together have become the largest importer of Swiss watches. Tourneau has an outstanding position in marketing, retail distribution and product, which together are an unbeatable combination.”
Chau added that there are now only 150 luxury watch retailers in China, leaving lots of room to grow. But the Chinese government may have thrown up a roadblock to brands’ growth in the country last month when it revealed plans to begin imposing a 20 percent consumption tax on all sales of luxury watches. Industry executives have said it is too early to determine the impact, however.
The new firm also has plans to open a watch school in the Hong Kong Peace Mark factory, banking on talented local laborers to master the workings of intricate timepieces.
The deal marks another leg of Tourneau’s race to expand into Europe, India, South Korea and Malaysia, which is unrelated to the Peace Mark deal. The company, which has 23 stores in the U.S., first expanded outside of the U.S. in 2004 in conjunction with Dutyfree Holdings Inc., the holding company for The Perfect Time Ltd. and Franchise Services Inc., with stores in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
Robert Wexler, chief executive officer of Tourneau, also is planning to roll out about a dozen North American stores this year.
“We did the Caribbean as a dress rehearsal,” said Wexler. “It was the first time we went offshore and it was very successful.”
Wexler also is looking to grow Tourneau’s private label watch business. In other categories, the company has signed a license with Tura to manufacture the Tourneau brand of eyewear and it is looking to expand into writing instruments and fragrance.
Wexler said the 106-year-old firm is exploring strategic options, including a possible sale of the business, but said nothing was imminent.