Hublot has opened its flagship boutique on London’s Bond Street a month earlier than CEO Ricardo Guadalupe expected when he spoke to WatchPro in May.
The date of its official opening has not yet been confirmed, most likely because Hublot is so busy as Official Timekeeper of the FIFA World Cup, but it welcomed its first customers on July 3.
The 200 square metre Hublot store is sandwiched between fine jeweller De Grisogono and Chopard, which is also expanding its presence on London’s most prestigious shopping street.
It is at the more luxurious Southern end of Bond Street, with Patek Philippe, Wempe and Rolex as near neighbours.
It replaces the Hublot shop at the Northern end of the street that was run by the watchmaker’s former UK partner Time Products Luxury, owned by Marcus Margules.
Rising costs on Bond Street made it financially unviable to keep the unit open, the company has said.
Hublot CEO Mr Guadalupe said in May that he hoped that the new store would open in August, so it is ahead of a revised schedule (it was initially hoped that the store would open last year but the work was taking longer than hoped because of the challenges of working in a historic building).
Asked about the eye-watering cost of running a branded boutique on Old Bond Street, Mr Guadalupe said in May that it is viable because Hublot can directly absorb the expense. “It is a statement by the brand, so we can attribute some of the cost to marketing Hublot in the UK,” he replied.
