TimeVallée, the Swiss multi-brand luxury watch retailer, opened its first Canadian flagship store in Montreal at Royalmount last month, in partnership with the Canadian legacy brand Maison Birks.
In celebration of this milestone, Emmanuel Perrin, Head of Specialist Watchmaker Maisons, visited Montreal for the store opening. Prior to his current role, Perrin was EVP of Sales – International Commercial Director of Cartier Switzerland, and prior to that, President & Chief Executive Officer of Cartier North America.
SWAGGER learns more from Perrin about the debut of the store and get insights watchmaking topics and trends.
What makes this new store special?
The whole concept is meant to be a bit more modern, contemporary, much more welcoming. And the idea is to have an aggregation of service, and as well, hopefully an aggregation of demand, meaning that with the seven Maisons that are represented, it will drive higher traffic than the existing competition that we have in the world. I would say it’s much more open, it’s much more focused towards the service of the customer. And hopefully the idea is to attract a new generation of enthusiasts, but an existing generation of enthusiasts as well, and to bring everybody together.
Can you share what led up to the partnership of this joint venture of opening the first Canadian flagship store together?
“I lead the Maison Birk’s brand and network of retail stores in Canada. We have a long history in Canada. We’ve built a dominant position in Canada from coast to coast, and with dominance goes legitimacy. And so we were strong enough to approach Timevallee, which we knew already for its initial successes in Asia, in the Middle East, some in Europe.
And we were attracted by the multi-brand value composition at the high-end level. And we thought it would be interesting to introduce Timevallee in Canada. We are number two in North America for the moment. You know, there is one store in New Jersey. We are the second store, in Canada. So it’s only the beginning. It’s a new venture. We wanted to have a first mover’s advantage, as Birk’s, to Canada. It’s a multi-brand experience, but with very high end standards. And it’s an aggregation of great Maisons, but the presentation is really under a high end retail concept, which is new to the market.
We felt it the right time being a new retail experience, in a new mall in Montreal. It was the time and perfect location for us to bring the new value proposition to watch lovers in the Montreal market.”
– Jean Christophe Bédos, Birks CEO
How do you see the luxury watch market evolving in coming years?
It’s always a question that’s very difficult. Because obviously nobody has a crystal ball. The watch industry has been around for centuries, not even decades, centuries. And I think post Covid there was revenge purchasing, revenge shopping, revenge experiencing living. So we’re going through, I would say, a period of normalization.
It’s creating incredible product and stimulating desirability, making sure that we give memorable service, a genuine, caring service, and expertise to the customer.
So the infrastructure for distribution of luxury is actually increasing in Canada, and quite frankly, we are very optimistic about the potential for growth in the watch market, both for ladies and men. It’s a question of also accessories for everyday wear, and weekend wear. It gives the opportunity with high standards of service and quality of the store itself. The decor is very high end, and it gives the opportunity for the clients to be exposed to more than one brand, and that’s very important.
Let’s talk about how your previous roles have lent itself to your current role?
I’ll try to make 50 years of Swiss watchmaking history in 50 seconds. The 70s, the invasion of electronic and quartz watches from Asia, almost killed the mechanical watchmaking Swiss industry. And I think people tend to forget that. And then in the 80s, and I would say from 80s to the mid 2010s, the ultimate goal with survival was to make sure we had enough orders.
There was a natural expansion with 30 years of economic boom, throughout the world. What we needed to do was transform the watch retailer into a watch partner, and not a client anymore, so we can put our effort together in providing the best experience possible for the end client. And moving from customer service to client care. You cannot hire colleagues that work in the store and teach them care; they have it, or they don’t have it. You can teach them everything else, but not the care. I think that’s the main approach. That’s the main change that is driving that our approach.