Watches of Switzerland Group is preparing for its troops for its first incursion into Continental Europe.
A post on LinkedIn by Suzie Batson, group head of talent acquisition at the group, suggests Sweden and Denmark will be bridgeheads for a push deep into Europe.
“Exciting times ahead as we push the button with regards to recruitment for our expansion into Europe,” she writes.
WOSG has already published a five year plan that includes plans for a major expansion outside of its core markets of the UK and USA, with the European Union identified as its most significant growth opportunity.
“The EU luxury watch market has not grown at the same pace as the UK since 2000; the Group believes the market is under-invested and under-potentialised,” the company says in a note to investors.
“The Group sees a significant growth opportunity in the EU and plan to enter this market through acquisitions, mono-brand boutiques as well as further growth potential in travel retail, ecommerce and new developments,” the investor note continues.
“The Group anticipates that the EU will contribute between 5% to 8% of Group revenue by FY26,” it adds.
While analysts may have been expecting a significant acquisition to establish infrastructure and scale in the EU, it appears WOSG is going to start by opening monobrand stores with its strongest partners.
“In partnership with some our fantastic monobrands our first stop will be the Nordics,” Ms Batson reveals. “Keep an eye out for vacancies being advertised in the coming weeks for retail management opportunities in Stockholm and Copenhagen,” she adds along with a picture showing a spotlight on the Nordic countries.
Rolex is by far Watches of Switzerland’s biggest brand, although the group has widened its base and now reports that its top eight brands make up 82% of sales.
Both Copenhagen and Stockholm currently have three Rolex points of sale each.
Sweden and Denmark are certainly not global hot spots for watch sales.
Data from the Federation of Swiss Watch Industry lists the top 30 countries by annual value of exports and neither makes the cut.
The lowest ranked country in the top 30 is Denmark, which accounted for Swiss watch exports worth CHF 113.6 million in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Exports to the UK in the same year were worth CHF 1.4 billion.
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