SME News Scottish Enterprise 2024/ 4 In the world of luxury watches, true authenticity is paramount and choosing the right watch dealer is more important than just looking for the watch itself. The Watch Room, Scotland’s leading independent luxury watch dealer, does things differently. Buying, selling, and sourcing extravagant new and pre-owned watches from such brands as Rolex – its speciality and by far its best-selling brand – as well as Audemars Piguet, Omega and Cartier, to name just a few, The Watch Room has gone from strength to strength since it was founded back in 2018. As a result, it has positioned itself as a beacon of expertise, trust, and value in this market. When Geoff Swindells made the decision to establish The Watch Room more than six years ago, he did so on the back of a lifelong passion for watches, timepieces, and horology. With an ever-growing personal watch collection to boot – as well an affinity for motorsport, two areas which often goes hand in hand – Geoff had already been buying and selling luxury watches for decades before setting out on this journey, usually to either carry on building his own collection or to track down the perfect gift for a friend or family member. The leap to turn this passion into an enterprise based on his expertise therefore made sense. Geoff was, however, in the midst of a more than 30-year stint in banking and finance at the time. Given the calibre of senior roles he was holding at such pioneering businesses as Accenture, Experian, and Visa in this field, it is no surprise that Geoff had the privilege of being able to travel the world on business. With each new destination, Geoff would explore the local luxury watch market, resulting in him quickly forming a network of international contacts, which came in useful when he was building this empire. As a result, The Watch Room is today able to offer the best luxury watches from some of the world’s most renowned brands, delivering stellar pieces at highly competitive prices in this crowded marketplace. Selling, buying, and sourcing new/unworn and pre-owned luxury watches, every timepiece stocked by this retailer is then meticulously checked by its master watchmaker, an individual who personally vouches for both the authenticity and functionality of every watch, and underpinned up by a minimum 12-month warranty. Whereas many watch dealers carry almost no stock and have to source a watch after an order is placed, this enterprise is proud to have more than £1 million worth of stock to hand, ready to be shipped immediately. It’s shipping times are incredibly fast and its packages secure and tamper-proof, resulting in a seamless experience for customers. Bolstering this further is the fact that Geoff and his team are able to leverage the capabilities of the aforementioned worldwide supplier network to swiftly source any watches not currently in stock. Geoff himself explains: “We place customer service at the heart of everything we do. We are watch lovers and long-time personal collectors first and foremost – thus, every watch we sell is a watch we would be delighted to own ourselves.” This unwavering commitment to sourcing only the highest-quality watches sheds some light on the reason why the company has never received a rating of less than five stars across all review platforms, something Geoff is incredibly proud of. After all, he asks, how many businesses can say that? Most luxury watch sellers operating in the resale market care only about the transaction itself, securing as high a price as they can before swiftly moving on to the next opportunity. The Watch Room is different, with the customer experience being at the very heart of its service. Yes it sells exquisite watches, but it is the relationships forged as a result, built on trust, which mean the most to both the company and its customers. Be it for a first luxury watch or a collection’s centrepiece, The Watch Room recognises this sense of trust is vital. This is why the company promises never to polish any pre-owned luxury watches, with polishing being a divisive subject when it comes to the luxury watch community. Most people are entirely against the practice – particularly those who consider themselves to be discerning collectors or aficionados – with patina (the name for how a luxury watch ages over time) being something that is not only normal but expected. Polishing also removes metal from the watch and can potentially impact value drastically. As this example shows, The Watch Room is about something much greater than just surface-level beauty. Its business model may be simple and timeless – buy high-quality stock and sell it at fair market prices – but the level of trust, professionalism, and expertise injected into it at every level make this luxury watch retail enterprise different. This has led to continuous growth for the brand, which is passionate about continuing to enhance the experience for its customers, whether they are buying, selling, or simply browsing as they save. To this end, Geoff shares with us that the company is currently in the process of relaunching its website. Currently in the build phase, The Watch Room recognised it was time for a refresh, as it had essentially been using the same website build since launch. Given how much the business has evolved over the past six-and-a-half years, the new website will reflect this growth, as well as the frontrunner position that this leading luxury watch retailer has carved out for itself – across Scotland, the rest of the UK, and beyond. Being based in Scotland comes with its fair share of benefits for the company, such as having to tackle less competition than it would if it were operating in other regions of the UK. Best Luxury Watch Retail Enterprise 2024 & SME News Luxury Watch Excellence Award 2024 Oct24229
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