Family-owned Swiss watch retail giant Bucherer completed a takeover of The Watch Gallery in March – bringing one of the world?s most influential names when it comes to buying watches to the UK for the first time. The move sees it take control of Selfridges? Wonder Room as well as watch shops in Covent Garden, Westfield and the Rolex boutique at One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge.
We spoke to Bucherer CEO Guido Zumbuhl and UK managing director David Coleridge about the watch world?s digital future, what sells well in London and the phenomenon that is watch tourism.

The Watch Gallery has built up a successful online presence, while Bucherer, for all its size, is yet to take the digital plunge.
On the move to online:
Bucherer CEO Guido Zumbuhl Guido Zumbuhl: 
“The value for Bucherer in buying The Watch Gallery is to be more international. We looked for a long time to go to London, but it was difficult to find the right brand to do it with.
We are always open to learning new things, and the most important thing is online – we are still in the process of getting online sales up and running. This year we will start it, and I think we will be able to avoid some mistakes by learning from TWG.
 
 
David Coleridge: 
“We spent five years making mistakes on the internet in London – and hopefully identifying them and correcting them! Online in the premium watch business is still a process entirely of experimentation. We have a designer w...