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BREAKING NEWS: 2018 WatchPro Awards winners revealed

Industry honours the watch brands and retailers it has most admired this year at spectacular awards ceremony.

The third annual WatchPro Awards ceremony took place last night, with over 320 industry leaders gathering in London to congratulate winners in 15 categories collect their trophies.

The Watches of Switzerland Group, which is working towards a public listing next year, was a double winner of the night, collecting awards for Luxury Multiple Watch Retailer of the Year and  Ecommerce Watch Retailer of the Year for WatchShop.

Beaverbrooks also won two gongs, taking home the prizes for Volume Watch Retailer of the Year and Retail Leader of the Year for the group’s managing director Anna Blackburn, who was given a seat on the board of directors for the family-owned businesses earlier this year.

The room was briefly silenced for the final award of the evening, when Mark Hearn, managing director of Patek Philippe UK, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award and gave a moving speech describing his love of the industry, thanking his family, who joined him for the dinner, and praising Patek Philippe’s authorised dealer community for their loyalty and friendship over a career spanning 30 years.

 

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Mark Hearn, managing director of Patek Philippe, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

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Family, friends and the entire British watch industry rise for a standing ovation following Mark Hearn’s acceptance speech for the Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

Patek Philippe has 22 authorised retail partners in the UK, and 20 of them attended the WatchPro Awards to show their support for 59 year-old Mr Hearn, who is being treated for Parkinson’s disease. His family and executives from Patek Philippe joined the whole room in a standing ovation for the contribution Mr Hearn has made to the entire watch industry.

The full list of winners is:

Retailer categories

Independent Luxury Watch Retailer of the Year: Boodles

Multiple Luxury Watch Retailer of the Year: Watches of Switzerland

Volume Watch Retailer of the Year: Beaverbrooks

Ecommerce Watch Retailer of the Year: WatchShop

Best New Store of the Year: Pragnell in Mayfair

Best Refurbished Store of the Year: Bucherer in Westfield London

Retail Leader of the Year: Anna Blackburn, Beaverbrooks

Supplier categories

Marketing & Merchandising Team of the Year: Hublot

Sales Team of the Year: Citizen Watch UK

Executive Leadership Team of the Year: Patek Philippe

Lifestyle Watch Brand of the Year: Seiko

Luxury Watch Brand of the Year: Rolex

Fashion Watch Brand of the Year: Gucci

Lifetime Achievement Award – Mark Hearn, managing director, Patek Philippe

 

 

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