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Tag: Audemars Piguet

  • Malaysia’s Industronics to launch online pre-owned watch platform

    Malaysia’s Industronics to launch online pre-owned watch platform

    Industronics Bhd is tapping on the US$17 billion pre-owned luxury watch market through Ecgo International Ltd, its wholly-owned subsidiary in Hong Kong.

    This follows the launch of Industronics’ luxury watch e-commerce platform, watch-exchanges.com.

    Executive director Datuk Chu Boon Tiong said based on data and overall market performance, the pre-owned luxury watch market showed promising growth prospects.

    “We are excited to capitalize on the growing trend with the launch of WatchExchange and aim to pave the way for a streamlined trading platform that will not only revolutionise the transactions of pre-owned luxury watches but drive further growth in this industry,” he said in a statement today.

    WatchExchange aims to be the first luxury watch e-commerce platform that issues authenticity certificates for pre-owned luxury watches in Malaysia and Asia Pacific.

    Some of the leading brands profiled are Audemars Piguet, Hublot, Patek Philippe, Tag Heuer, IWC, Omega, Jaeger LeCoultre, Panerai, Rolex and Breitling.

    Chu said pricing and demand for pre-owned luxury watches had been so strong over the last few years that even high-end watch brands were moving into the pre-owned market themselves.

    “However, the biggest challenge for the pre-owned luxury watch market lies in authenticating the watches.

    “Our role here is to ensure that the shoppers can safely purchase luxury watches on WatchExchange without having to worry about the security and authenticity of the pre-owned luxury watches,” he said.

    Industronics, with its team of professional and experienced watch appraisers, said it wanted to create a professional, safe trading environment that would elevate customers’ experience of purchasing pre-owned luxury watches to a new level.

    The company will set up offices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the United States, Canada and Europe, where sellers worldwide could visit for physical appraisals of their watch collections.

    The success of WatchExchange will depend on excellence in several key areas namely stability, sustainability, search engine optimization (SEO) and new media marketing.

    This will also require extensive funding to carry out both online advertising and offline promotional activities.

    Chu believes the competitive advantage for WatchExchange lies in the company’s ability to build a “unicorn” ecosystem around the region.

    “We do not think that the strength of the platform lies solely in the certification and authentication guarantees.

    “We intend to replicate the business models globally via partnerships with a locally listed company in the respective countries.

    “Among the markets that we are looking into are Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China and several emerging markets in Europe. Once our ecosystem matures, we will have so much more to offer to our customers, in terms of the variety of brands, models, and other services,” Chu said.

    According to a management consultancy firm Bain & Company, the global pre-owned luxury watch market was valued at US$17 billion in 2018.

    However, less than 20 per cent of that market is in the Asia Pacific region, while only 25 per cent of the total pre-owned luxury watch sales were online transactions.

    Euromonitor International, an independent strategic market research provider, estimates the value of retail sales of timepieces in Malaysia to grow by five per cent per annum between 2019 and 2022, to reach up to RM2.5 billion.

    Industronic is looking to set up a fund in Hong Kong to raise RM250 million from potential investors.

    Proceeds raised will be utilised to purchase different brands of luxury watches for resale on the company’s platform.

    Industronics aims to invest around RM25 million or 10 per cent of the total funding required, together with the Hong Kong Cyberport Fund, which will invest an equivalent amount or at a 1:1 ratio.

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  • Audemars Piguet unveils its future vision for luxury retail

    Audemars Piguet unveils its future vision for luxury retail

    High-end watch brand Audemars Piguet has opened a concept in Hong Kong which it believes will transform the way it interacts with its clients.

    Fusing hospitality and retail, AP House is designed like a luxurious apartment and located on the 21st floor of the new H Queen’s Tower on Queen’s Road, Central.

    AP House is the brand’s vision for the future of luxury retailing. It grew from the Audemars Piguet team imagining how the 143-year-old brand’s founders Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet would be dealing with their clients if they were living in the 21st century, travelling the world and sharing their passion for beautiful watches.

    They posed the question: “What more can we do to elevate customers’ experience with Audemars Piguet?”

    The result, a home away from home for the watch brand’s clients. Customers can use the space to invite friends for lunch or host a business meeting.

    “There’s no obligation to buy a watch,” says Audemars Piguet CEO Francois-Henry Bennahmias. “You can take a seat, relax and chill out, if that’s how the mood takes you.”

    “Visitors are welcome to relax, reflect, connect or disconnect, while experiencing the team’s impeccable service,” the company said in a statement. “The lounge will also play host to exclusive events where guests can discover the manufacturer’s creations, its savoir-faire and its place in today’s world.

  • Audemars Piguet to try secondhand market

    Audemars Piguet to try secondhand market

    Swiss luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet is planning to launch its own shop for used watches.

    It is believed to be the first major watch brand to break into the growing market for secondhand luxury timepieces.

    Audemars Piguet (AP) says it has had a “test run” at a Geneva store and intends to expand its secondhand business to other Swiss locations. Initially it is treating customer trade-ins as partial exchanges, later aiming to sell the pieces.

    “Secondhand is the next big thing in the watch industry,” says AP chief executive Francois-Henry Bennahmias. “At the moment, we leave it to what I call the ‘dark side’ to deal with demand for pre-owned pieces.”

    Smaller-scale watch brands such as H.Moser & Cie and MB&F will join AP in expanding to the secondary high-end goods market later this year.

    “It is important to control the sale of secondhand watches to protect owners and the value of watches already in the market,” says H.Moser & Cie’s Edouard Meylan.

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  • DFS Group completes City of Dreams store

    DFS Group completes City of Dreams store

    Luxury travel retailer DFS Group has unveiled the final phase of T Galleria by DFS, City of Dreams store in Macau following a year-long expansion.

    DFS Group chairman/CEO Philippe Schaus says the the store offers travellers the breadth of a luxury shopping mall with the personalised service of a high-end department store.

    An expanded jewelry offering was also unveiled in December, bringing key luxury jewelry brands Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels to T Galleria by DFS, City of Dreams as well as new watches boutiques from Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Const
    An expanded jewelry offering was also unveiled in December, bringing key luxury jewelry brands Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels to T Galleria by DFS, City of Dreams as well as new watches boutiques from Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin

    Opening in 2009, T Galleria by DFS, City of Dreams expanded throughout last year to more than three times its original size. Stretching across 173,000 sqft (16072 sqm), the expanded store includes the group’s debut shoe hall. The largest shoe floor in Hong Kong and Macau, it features more than 50 men’s and women’s shoe brands across two levels, including exclusive-to-Macau brands such as Aquazzura and Rupert Sanderson.

    Men can also enjoy a dedicated multi-branded, lifestyle area that mixes ready-to-wear, accessories, shoes, watches and grooming all in one space to allow shoppers to complete a head-to-toe look with ease
    Men can also enjoy a dedicated multi-branded, lifestyle area that mixes ready-to-wear, accessories, shoes, watches and grooming all in one space to allow shoppers to complete a head-to-toe look with ease

     

    There are more than 40 fashion and accessories brands in the outlet, including Dior, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu and Prada. The expanded beauty offering comprises two wings across 23,000 sqft and nearly 70 beauty and fragrance brands, making it the largest beauty hall in southern China. Highlights include Korean brands Hera, Laneige and Sulwhasoo.

    DFS Macau, City of Dreams – beauty

    For men there is a multi-branded lifestyle area that mixes ready-to-wear, accessories, shoes, watches and grooming in one space.

    DFS Macau. 1

    DFS Macau. 3

    An expanded jewellery offering was unveiled in December, bringing in such brands as Tiffany & Co and Van Cleef & Arpels. There are also new watch boutiques from Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin.

    DFS Macau, City of Dreams - WJA Event

    T Galleria by DFS, City of Dreams is one of four T Galleria stores in Macau, including T Galleria by DFS, Shoppes at Four Seasons; T Galleria by DFS, Studio City; and the standalone beauty hall T Galleria Beauty by DFS, Galaxy Macau.

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  • Hard half-year for Luk Fook Holdings

    Hard half-year for Luk Fook Holdings

    Revenue plunged by 21.5 per cent for jeweller Luk Fook Holdings (International) to reach HK$5.5 billion (US$709 million) for the six months to September 30.

    Its interim results also show a drop of 31.5 per cent in overall same-store sales for the period.

    However, its overall gross margin improved by 5.3 points to 28 per cent as a result of a relatively high gold price and higher gemset jewellery sales mix. Because of this, the gross profit decreased by only 3 per cent to HK$1.5 billion.

    Mainland China accounted for 54.6 per cent of total profits, an increase of 12.8 points.
    With a lacklustre market, retail revenue in Hong Kong plunged by 33.4 per cent to $2.642 billion, while the wholesale business shot up by 51.1 per cent to $361.6 million because of an increase in scrap gold sales as well as wholesale rough diamonds.

    Luk Fook says a relatively high gold price saw gold sales fall more than expected.

    During the six months, the group added 27 Lukfook shops worldwide, including 24 in China (nine of them licensed shops), a self-run shop in both Macau’s casino district and New York,and  a licensed shop in Seoul. This brought its total to 1455 Lukfook shops (up from 1412 at the same time last year), spanning Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Macau, Singapore and the US, as well as nine 3D-Gold shops (up from four) on the mainland.

    The group says it has been striving to diversify its product mix, and since 2010 has been trying to expand its mid- to high-end watch business. At the end of September is was the authorised dealer of 34 watch brands including Audemars Piguet, Bulova, Burberry, Bulgari, Emporio Armani, Eterna, Frederique Constant, Longines, Omega, Oris, Rado, Tag Heuer, and Victorinox Swiss Army.

    For the six months, the watch business contributed revenue of HK$104.49 million down from HK$119.39 million for the same period last year, representing 1.9 per cent of the group’s total revenue, a 12.5 per cent decrease.

    Looking ahead, the group aims to continue to develop its eCommerce business and to further strengthen cooperation with eCommerce platforms in China. At the end of September, the group had 15 online sales platforms in China, including JD.com, Suning.com, Tmall.com and VIP.com.

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  • Audemars Piguet Hong Kong boutique opens

    Audemars Piguet Hong Kong boutique opens

    Ultra-luxury Swiss watch brand Audemars Piguet has opened a standalone boutique in Hong Kong.

    event-20141008121335-AP_GrandOpening_2 (1)

    The Hong Kong store is one of only about 17 stand alone boutiques of the brand in the world.

    Hong Kong watch retailer Halewinner, owned by Early Light International, has opened the store and sells Audemars Piguet timepieces through others in its 30-strong chain of multi-brand watch stores across Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China.

    Audemars Piguet Ambassador LeBron James visits Hong Kong’s first self-owned boutique 2

    Audemars Piguet Hong Kong April 2016

    The Audemars Piguet Hong Kong Boutique is located in Soundwill Plaza at No 38 Russell St.

    The Swiss brand has designed and manufactured highly complex mechanical watches since 1875, when it was founded by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet. Among others, Tiffany & Co, Cartier and Bulgari have used Audemars Piguet movements.

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