Laings has appointed Stuart McDowell as its new retail director, a position that secures him a seat at the company’s boardroom table according to a filing at Companies House.
He brings a wealth of shop floor experience to the position, having spent 12 years as head of watches at Hamilton & Inches, a fellow Scottish luxury jeweller based in Edinburgh.
Laings, headquartered in Glasgow, has three stores in its home city, one each in Edinburgh, Southampton and Cardiff, and a strong ecommerce site.
Mr McDowell is not new to Laings, having spent a year at at the company in 2003-4 as a retail sales and brand manager before moving to Hamilton & Inches. He rejoined Laings in 2017 and is delighted with his new role and the team around him.
“I decided that it was time to re-join Laings when I saw the vision that CEO, Joe Walsh, has for the company. With Joe at the helm, Laings is investing more and more in people, the staff, the customers and the stores. His leadership is a breath of fresh air within the industry and seeing how he has developed the Laings experience for customers is something that I’m looking forward to continuing,” Mr McDowell says.
His job, Mr McDowell says, is to make the experience of buying a luxury watch or item of jewellery a truly special and memorable occasion.
“It’s the ethos of the company and the family history that makes Laings such a special place. Our purchases are a moment of celebration and the members of the Laings team are honoured to share these experiences with our customers. We aim to create a special memory for everyone that comes into our stores, welcoming them with the warm family-feel that Laings has,” he explains. “Customers enjoy the luxurious experience of shopping at Laings. I hope to strengthen this, building on relationships and helping them to mark a lifetime of important moments.”
In addition to strengthening customer relationships, Mr McDowell will also work with the watch brands that Laings stock to ensure they are properly represented. The jeweller is an authorised dealer for Patek Philippe, Rolex, Omega, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and IWC among many others.
“I’m looking forward to working closely with our prestigious watch brands to ensure that our customers have the very best range of timepieces available. This will allow us to fully service our customer needs and again, always put the customer first,” Mr McDowell promises.
