Switzerland-based Bucherer, Europe’s leading retailer for watches and jewelry, announced the acquisition of Tourneau LLC, the largest luxury watch seller in the United States, back in January 2018. Since then, the watch industry and those who follow and cover it have anxiously awaited what this merger of timepiece titans will mean for both companies and their business models. The COVID-19 pandemic put many of those plans on hold throughout 2020, but with the slow easing of restrictions in Summer and Fall 2021, the new Bucherer USA appears ready to forge ahead. Ira Melnitsky, who played a vital role in the sale of Tourneau to Bucherer and now serves as President of Bucherer USA, spoke to WatchTime about the challenges of navigating this major merger through the pandemic and what’s on the horizon this fall.
Bucherer USA President Ira Melnitsky

WT: As CEO of Tourneau, what was your role in the acquisition by Bucherer"

IM:  When I joined as CEO in 2013, Tourneau was private equity-owned and I knew that it was in a turnaround situation. It was my role to begin the process of selling the company on behalf of the private equity firm, and as I’ve said many times before, with true sincerity, there couldn?t have been a better buyer than Bucherer.

WT: The new partnership between Bucherer and Tourneau has been described as not just a merger, but a marriage. What does each business bring to the collaboration that makes the whole of its parts...