Bucherer’s first set of accounts since it bought The Watch Gallery in March last year show the business lost none of the momentum that luxury London retailers have enjoyed since the Brexit vote weakened the pound.
A change to the reporting period means that Bucherer Holdings Ltd’s 2017 accounts, published at Companies House, show performance over 11 months. Despite the shortened year, sales still rose by 4% to £76.7 million.
Adjusted to a 12 month period, sales would likely have topped £83 million, a rise of 14%.
Operating profit for the 11 month year at £5.7 million, a tick up from the 12 month period in the 2016-17 financial year.
Bucherer advises in its accounts that its future is dependent on maintaining distribution agreements with the watch brands it sells, and its contract with Selfridges where the company operates the Wonder Room.
Bucherer has two standalone stores in London’s Covent Garden and the Westfield shopping centre in West London. It also runs a Rolex monobrand showroom in Knightsbridge.
The Selfridges Wonder Room space was increased by around 25% at the end of 2016 and the Westfield store fully re-opened this summer after a major refurbishment and expansion.
David Coleridge, who was chairman of The Watch Gallery when it was sold and is now a director of Bucherer Holdings Ltd, says the transition has been a fantastic experience. “I love being part of the Bucherer Group. I think there are very few deals that, 18 months after the event, both the vendors and the buyers can honestly say they remain very pleased. This was one of those rare deals. Everybody got good value,” he says.
Details of Bucherer’s acquisition of The Watch Gallery have not been disclosed, but the company’s first set of accounts in the UK show a cost for “purchase of subsidiary undertakings” of £40.4 million and a cost for “net cash acquired with subsidiary undertakings” of £14.1 million.
FIRST LOOK: WatchPro takes a tour of Bucherer’s expanded Westfield London showroom
