A new suburban London watch retailer will open its doors on November 3, building on an ecommerce business that launched in 2020.
WatchPilot has located its first brick and mortar store on George Street, Richmond, offering what the owners call affordable and high end timepieces from 30 brands ranging from Casio, Rotary and Daniel Wellington to Junghans, Herbelin and Marathon.
Watchpilot was founded in by Tim Harrison and Akbar Hussain, both watch collectors who met by chance and saw a gap in the market.
The original plan was to open a physical store much sooner but due to the pandemic, plans were pushed back so they continued to build ecommerce offer, which will continue to be a key part of the business as they look for additional physical store locations.
“We will continue to grow our online presence however particularly within the luxury side of watch retail there will always be demand for a premium in store experience. If our initial Richmond store proves successful, we are open to replicating the concept in other similar locations,” says Mr Harrison, co-founder of WatchPilot.
His co-founder Mr Hussain adds: “We are looking to deliver a local retail alternative in the Richmond area which will offer leading Swiss as well as fashion brands along with smaller niche brands that do not gain the visibility they deserve in major national retailers.”
