London and New York have a long-established global profile as premier retail destinations, attracting international shoppers in their millions every year. Yet both could still provide key opportunities for luxury watch brands looking to expand this year and beyond. 

Perhaps surprisingly, 44 per cent of watch brands operating standalone boutiques globally are not yet present in either city. By contrast, 73 per cent already have a boutique in Paris.

Overall, total new luxury watch store openings fell globally in 2017, with 37 compared with 44 in 2016. At the same time, openings veered away from the traditional Asia Pacific markets (such as Hong Kong and Singapore) to focus more on core ‘destination’ markets in North America and Europe. Tag Heuer opened in London and Blancpain in New York, for example. 

Changes in the luxury market mean there may not be the same level of watch brand store openings going forward, but rather a renewed focus on these key destination markets. In particular, those where ‘gaps’ remain could provide opportunities for expansion even in the more developed markets such as London and New York.

These gaps are partly historical, for example in that a number of the leading luxury watch brands are French. However, the greater presence in Paris also reflects the city’s high number of Chinese tourists, which has made it an attractive location for brands to develop their own stores. 

Interestingly, the biggest increases in total luxury watch store openings last year were in North America (19 new stores) and Europe (15 new stores), marking year-on-year increases of 138 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.

Within certain geographic areas, luxury watch store openings also appear to be undergoing a shift. In North America, for example, brands have begun to focus on more emerging markets, with five openings in Toronto and three in Vancouver last year. In fact, Toronto was the top city globally for luxury watch store openings  in 2017.  

Watch brands which are working against the clock on their expansion plans could find opening stores in emerging cities, or those still presenting a significant gap, now will leave them much more than just ticking over in the longer term.

Further information 

Read more: Savills Global Luxury Retail