Patek Philippe will extend its flagship salon on London’s Bond Street, the company confirmed to WatchPro this morning.
No further details have been shared about the timing or scope of the project, but it is expected that the neighbouring unit, which was vacated by Hirsh jewellery in 2020, will become part of the showroom.
Patek Philippe’s existing salon is the only point of sale directly run by the brand.
The two-storey store, on the corner of New Bond Street and Clifford Street in the heart of Mayfair, is already the highest grossing point of sale in the UK.
In the financial year ending January 31, 2022, the most recent accounts filed with Companies House, the wholesale operation of Patek Philippe reported sales of £187 million to around 40 retail partners.
The directly-operated Bond Street salon notched direct to consumer sales of £69 million.
Expanding its own flagship comes at a time when Patek Philippe is closing 30% of its wholesale doors around the world as the company, in common with many of the Swiss watch industry’s leading players, concentrates its focus on selling from larger stores in the best possible locations.
The salon is also operating on one of the most competitive luxury streets in the world where size really does matter.
Gucci and Burberry are about to open vast flagships on New Bond Street.
Gucci’s move to a larger premises has made way for the Watches of Switzerland Group to secure the lease on its current building, where it will open a three-storey emporium next year at 34 Old Bond Street.
Tudor is taking over the whole of the current Mappin & Webb showroom on the corner of Old Bond Street and Piccadilly in a monobrand that will also be run by the Watches of Switzerland Group.
While Gucci and Burberry will bring fresh energy to the centre of the New Bond Street and Old Bond Street thoroughfare, which stretches from Oxford Street to the north and Piccadilly to the south, the centre of gravity for the luxury watch industry is most certainly heading south.
The expanded Patek Philippe salon down to Tudor at the southernmost corner will bookend monobrands for Hublot, Cartier, Chopard, Rolex, Omega, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin, Richard Mille and A. Lange & Sohne.
Wempe, the last remaining multibrand on Bond Street, closed this year after it lost its agency for Rolex and Patek Philippe.
While Patek Philippe has confirmed the expansion of its salon, it has not provided any details at this stage, but it is likely the entire showroom will be refurbished to a fresh retail concept.
Pragnell on Mayfair’s Mount Street, which recently doubled in size, is the first showroom in the world with a Patek Philippe shop-in-shop that uses the new concept.
The new look is a subtle evolution that brings in natural tones like purple and softer furnishings.
