Sales at luxury watch retailer defy the gloom

SALES of luxury goods around the world have slumped but a British upmarket watch retailer has bucked the trend and is planning to open stores across the UK, writes Laura Chesters.

The Watch Gallery, which sells brands including Cartier and Rolex, is undeterred by concerns about the economy or a slowdown in spending in the luxury sector in China and is looking for new shops outside its London home.

Swiss watch exports have fallen 16pc over the past year and are at their lowest in five years. However the firm, which also runs a website, saw sales rise 13pc in the year to the end of January and will open its latest outlet in Covent Garden’s Opera House building this summer.

It also plans to roll out a series of regional stores after trading successfully in concessions based in Selfridges in Manchester and Birmingham.

Backer of the business Stephen Murphy said more than half of its customers are from the UK but it also attracts shoppers from around the globe via its website. The Watch Gallery also runs two of the largest Rolex boutiques in Europe: at One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge and in Westfield Shopping centre.

The business started life as part of familyowned Bond Street jeweller David Morris. In 2006 the watch business was bought out by a group of investors including Murphy, its chairman David Coleridge, commercial director Rebecca Simonds and a group of private investors.

Turnover for the year to January reached £63m and the firm is in profit.

The average purchase from its website is now £2,000 and it sells watches in its stores ranging between £500 and more than £100,000.