Watches of Switzerland USA, which includes Mayors, continues to develop its unique brand of retailing in the United States market in 2022.
In late 2021, the United Kingdom-based Watches of Switzerland Group — which primarily operates in the US and the UK (with future plans to expand in Europe) — acquired three of the four Betteridge stores in Greenwich, Vail, and Aspen, strategically positioning themselves in three prestigious locations without having to develop from the ground up. As part of that same November 2021 announcement, WOSG confirmed the acquisition of the Ben Bridge Jeweler location at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the Timeless Luxury Watches store in Plano, Texas. A sixth store was announced at the same time as the five acquisitions and will be a new build in Kenwood, Ohio under the Watches of Switzerland moniker.
North American Expansion 2022
Fast forward to February 2022 and it’s clear WOSG has stayed busy in the US market — with an announcement last Friday confirming additional expansion via their Mayors-branded division by way of expanding existing stores at Aventura Mall and The Mall at Millenia, including new mono-brand boutiques from Tudor, Rolex, Breitling, and Bulgari — and at the Wynn in Las Vegas, the dedicated Rolex boutique that’s operated by the group has been upgraded significantly — making it one of the largest Rolex stores in the country.
Aventura Mall
At the Mayors’ Aventura Mall location, situated in Miami’s premier retail district the store has a new look and will now include three interconnected stores with individual Mayors, Rolex, and Bulgari entrances. In case you’re wondering, one of the reasons that the Mayors name has been retained after being acquired by WOSG, is because unlike the Watches of Switzerland watch stores, Mayors also carries jewelry. Accordingly, “In the main Mayors location, additions include an exceptional array of Mayors bridal, diamond fashion jewelry, and fine jewelry from partners like Roberto Coin — whose new Venetian Princess collection is exclusive to Mayors — as well as a new, private VIP lounge, providing the utmost discretion for customers viewing its high jewelry collections.”
The Bulgari boutique will open in the next two years and will include one-of-a-kind high jewelry exclusive to the location, which is branded “Bulgari” on the storefront, with sales and operations managed by Mayors.
The Rolex boutique looks and feels like a traditional branded store, and as mentioned above, is connected to the multi-brand Mayors flagship on the backend.
The Mall at Millennia
A little over three hours North in Orlando, the upscale shopping center, The Mall at Millennia, houses another Mayors flagship store, which has undergone extensive renovations and in doing so has also become the first branded location to carry the Analog Shift vintage watch collection via a shop-in-shop. Being that this is a Mayors store, prestigious designer jewelry brands, like Messika, Fope, and Mikimoto, along with Mayors’ bridal, diamond fashion, and high jewelry will be sold alongside timepieces.
Additionally, The Mall at Millenia features a mono-brand Tudor boutique (the second to open in the US — the other is located in New York City’s Meat Packing District and is run by Bucherer), and as you can see from the image, the location has a dedicated storefront entrance, with the backend connected to the Mayors flagship store. For those interested in the world of Tudor, the store “will offer an exceptional range of men’s and women’s timepieces along with the Experience Table, a lifesize vintage diver, and an eclectic library wall with vintage articles.”
Breitling boutique in New Jersey
The group continues to grow with Breitling and has added its fourth US boutique in the luxury shopping center, Mall at Short Hills, located in New Jersey. The mono-brand store will join a portfolio of Watches of Switzerland-operated Breitling boutiques in Nashville, San Jose, and Philadelphia.
Upgraded Las Vegas Rolex boutique
After expanding the multi-brand Wynn store, Watches of Switzerland is unveiling a newly refurbished Rolex boutique — that as I mentioned above, is now one of the largest for the brand in the United States. As part of the enhancements to the Rolex Las Vegas boutique, the company will be introducing cutting-edge LED window display panel technology in partnership with Dynamix Pro, allowing consumers to experience the full product assortment digitally, as opposed to seeing display-only Rolex models or empty cases — which is because Rolex production watches that would normally be in the vitrines are sold out for the foreseeable future.
Statement from Executive Vice President of Watches of Switzerland USA
“At Watches of Switzerland, we have no preference between multi-brand showrooms, mono-brand boutiques, or e-commerce,” says David Hurley, Executive Vice President of Watches of Switzerland USA, “The client ultimately decides and we are investing behind all three areas. We’re delighted to open our first Bulgari and Tudor mono-brand boutiques adjacent to newly refurbished Mayors showrooms in Aventura and Orlando respectively. Our newly refurbished Rolex boutique in the Wynn resort in Las Vegas is second to none in the US and we’ve also taken the opportunity to introduce MB&F, Bovet, and Chopard corners in our adjacent Watches of Switzerland showroom.”
Photos by Watches of Switzerland.
