Fledgling independent watch retailer Watch Pilot is closing its only brick and mortar store.
The store in Richmond, southwest of London, opened at the end of 2022, but will be shuttered at the end of this month, according to its managing director Tim Harrison.
The company will not necessarily go into administration and will continue trading online at least until Christmas.
Mr Harrison tells WatchPro that he is hoping to restructure and attract fresh investment that will secure Watch Pilot’s longer-term future.
Suppliers have been recalling consignment stock, so the range of watches offered online is reduced.
Watch Pilot was named as watch retailer of the year at September’s UK Jewellery Awards and has been holding customer events at its Richmond store as recently as recently as last week.
Watch Pilot was founded in 2020 by Mr Harrison and Akbar Hussain, both watch collectors who saw a gap in the market for a mid-market multibrand retailer in Richmond.
The original plan was to open a physical store much sooner but the pandemic pushed them to pivot towards ecommerce.
It has cultivated a reputation for offering a broad range of brands both online and in its store, including indies such as Ball, Herbelin and Maurice Lacroix alongside group brands including Tissot, Certina and Frederique Constant.
Demand in the mid-market for watches has been soft this year.
The value of watches sold in the £1,000 to £3,000 price range is down by over 21% since the start of the year, according to retail analyst GfK.
The £500 to £1,000 price point is also down by 10% in the nine months to September. Sales of watches priced at under £500, where the majority of Watch Pilot’s brands are pitched, is down over 6% year to date.
Watch Pilot in numbers
- 30 luxury watch brands currently listed on the Watch Pilot website
- 37 designer watch brands offered for sale online
- 3,342 followers on Instagram
- £676,666 in net assets at the end of 2022
- £725,000 value of stock at the end of 2022
