The Bucherer Group, which has sold luxury timepieces since it was founded in 1888 in Lucerne, Switzerland,has 35 multi-brand stores in six European countries.
And now, with the opening of the three-level Manhattan flagship, it has its sights on growing in the United States.
The location — next door to the temporary Tiffany & Company flagship and across the street from Chanel and Louis Vuitton — had been occupied since 1997 by the American watch retailer Tourneau, which Bucherer bought in 2018. (The acquisition, Bucherer has said, made it the world’s largest watch retailer, with more than 90 stores.)
Renaming the site was the final touch on an extensive renovation that took almost two years to complete, and the company described it as strategic. “The first thing is to have Bucherer 1888 in the mind of the U.S. customer,” said Guido Zumbühl, Bucherer’s chief executive.
Tourneau is to continue as a business entity for the time being, but its two other Manhattan locations were relabeled Bucherer 1888 this month; its 18 other multi-brand stores in 10 states will follow suit. The company estimates the changes will take about a year to complete.
