One of the fascinations of editing WATCHPRO in both the UK and the United States is that I see trends on one side of the pond that could soon cross over to the other.
For example, it intrigues me that Americans spend more per capita on prestige jewellery (Signet Jewelers is going gangbusters) while the British appear to either want inexpensive silver trinkets or super lux pieces from the Bond Street set.
There is too little action in between except when there is a wedding to plan, but we do spend more on expensive timepieces.
A trend in the UK that is rapidly making its way stateside is for multibrand jewellers to break down their showrooms into monobrand stores for watch brands.
This started with Rolex and Patek Philippe authorised dealers being incentivised to carve out monobrand boutiques from their showrooms.
Omega, TAG Heuer and Breitling followed suit, while Tudor and Bremont are attempting to muscle in with the same tactic.
This is one of the reasons the UK market is narrowing to the point where just a few brands are squeezing all others to the margins.
It is telling that retailers are prepared to give us so much of their own identity to the watch brands, sacrifice space, pay for expensive furniture and stock, and drift away from jewellery that delivers far higher profit margins.
I sense the pendulum has swung too far in this direction, and a correction is required.
It must be working for retailers like Goldsmiths, Beaverbrooks and Ernest Jones to add monobrands, but I feel these must be balanced with incredibly strong multibrand and bridal areas that give customers choice while balancing the relationship between retailers and brands.
The customer journey to buying expensive watches or jewellery almost always begins online, and this is where retailers can highlight the broader choice of brands they offer; balancing the pulling power of the biggest brands with creative marketing of new and interesting products and then pulling customers into stores to present the watches properly.
Independent watchmakers
It is fascinating how popular and powerful independent brands have become in the past two years, and yet inspiring watchmakers such as Voutilainen, Laurent Ferrier, Urwerk, H. Moser, MB&F, De Bethune, Gronefeld and many more have not been able to secure a single square inch of retail space in the UK.
Thankfully, many of them are presenting at next week’s WATCHPRO Salon, so consumers, press and retailers will get a look at the exquisite watches they produce.
If I am right and the pendulum swings back away from the control of half a dozen watch brands, I hope to see these independents better represented, along with a stronger presence for brands such as Maurice Lacroix, DOXA and Oris that create beautiful watches at attractive prices.
