However, the plans to integrate and rebrand stores in the U.S. were put on hold due to the pandemic. We asked Ira Melnitsky, chief executive officer of Tourneau, about the future of the Tourneau brand, their new store concept, Bucherer’s limited editions and the pre-owned market.

Bucherer acquired Tourneau in 2018, but the complete integration has yet to happen. How did the pandemic impact the integration?

It certainly slowed down the timeline of the integration, but we were very lucky that it allowed us to focus more on our business strategy and also ensured that we could come back even stronger. Due to the great partnership between our U.S. and Swiss teams, we never felt pressured to rush the integration or rebranding, which has allowed us to further refine our strategy in the overall retail environment to rebrand in the U.S. market. There were obvious delays caused by the pandemic overall but much of it was related to the construction of the 57th Street store that closed in late 2019 for the renovation.

Will the consumers in the U.S. see the complete rebranding of Tourneau to Bucherer?

We are very excited to transition Tourneau to Bucherer in the United States. The reopening of the former Tourneau TimeMachine on 57th Street in New York under the Bucherer 1888 name is an essential element of this rebranding plan. This special location has always been at the heart and soul of Tourneau and New York, but now also for Bucherer. When the 57th Street store reopens in the fall, the other two Manhattan locations of Tourneau will rebrand to Bucherer as well.
From there, we will start a rollout of a complete rebranding of all Tourneau [stores] to Bucherer nationwide that will take approximately a year. The cohesive rebranding effort will witness a co-branding of both names and a dual logo so that the American public can grow accustomed to the Bucherer 1888 name and recognize that it, too, stands for trust, integrity and relationships.

Yes, it will. We will see the introduction of the Bucherer Blue collection and the Bucherer Fine Jewelry collection that will launch for the first time in the U.S. market at the flagship 57th Street store.

Additionally, with this new open-concept and immersive retail experience, we have pared down the number of brands we will showcase in the flagship store, reducing our brand partners by about 50 percent. We are also reducing the number of watches that we display, selecting only the most relevant and coveted pieces from each brand, thus ensuring a curated shopping experience.

The significance of pre-owned watches has grown exponentially in recent years. Is Bucherer going to retain pre-owned sales as Tourneau had in the past?

Yes. We will continue to have a Certified Pre-Owned business through the rebranding to Bucherer, and we intend to grow it stronger than before both in-store and online. You will also find some very rare and unique pre- owned timepieces in the flagship store.

Positive. We have experienced much success the last year and have grown the business significantly. Despite the pandemic restrictions, we saw an increased appreciation for fine timepieces and were able to interact more directly with our clients through a recently launched concierge program that started during the pandemic. We were able to be as close, probably closer than ever before, with our customers and also our valued brand partners.

Now, we are seeing the traffic come back, and customers are wanting to shop in person again. We are very excited about the reopening of the flagship under Bucherer 1888 on 57th Street, which is something of a landmark in New York City. There is no more important city to open the first U.S. store under the Bucherer umbrella.

It is more about personal products today, and our customers are buying what resonates with them emotionally than following a trend. People like watches that can be worn in a variety of situations, which is why sporty, robust, all- purpose watches are some of the most popular.

We have seen increased popularity in our Certified Pre-Owned business as well as a strong demand for exceptional timepieces and truly unique or limited edition watches. We have also seen a lot more female customers purchasing watches, including unisex or larger watch styles, specifically in the 38mm to 40mm range. From a color perspective, colored dials have also increased in popularity, particularly in green, from all brands and at all price points.

Bucherer limited editions are popular in Europe. Will they be available in the U.S. as well?

Yes, we are thrilled to bring the Bucherer Blue collection, which will launch in the fall at the Bucherer 1888 store on 57th Street and be available at stores nationwide. To date, 46 timepieces have been created for the collection, in close collaboration with 22 of the world’s leading watchmakers. For the U.S. launch of Bucherer Blue in the fall, we will see multiple new styles with new brand partners added to this collection, some exclusively available in the U.S. market. We also anticipate more special and limited pieces that will be available exclusively at Bucherer 1888 on 57th Street through our brand partners.