Rolex has made official its acquisition of the family-owned Bucherer Group, owner of around 100 points of sale worldwide. The strategic motivations are obvious: the Geneva-based watchmaker wants to strengthen its position and develop sales in its own stores.
Aiming to maintain the strong links between the two companies, Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Rolex has announced that it has acquired Bucherer, one of Europe’s largest watch and jewelry retailers and owner of the American chain Tourneau.
Through a strategy of vertical integration of its retail partners (Kurz in 1989, Swiss Lion in 2001, The Watch Gallery in 2017 and Tourneau in 2018), its store network has expanded to Switzerland, Denmark, England and France.
Through its Tourneau brand, Bucherer also has 34 points of sale in the USA, including New York, Las Vegas but also the Miami and Los Angeles suburbs.
This transaction ensures that the Swiss high-end watch brand retains its name and continues to operate autonomously, while full integration within the Rolex group is pending approval from the competition authorities.
This merger is the result of Jörg Bucherer’s decision to sell his company due to the absence of direct descendants. Rolex’s intentions in acquiring this well-established watch retailer could not be clearer: to perpetuate Bucherer’s legacy of success and honor the close partnership the two brands have enjoyed since 1924. For more than 90 years, the two brands have supported each other’s growth and achievements.
Today, Rolex occupies a leading position in the Swiss luxury watch sector. In 2021, the brand titan with the crown sold 1.05 million timepieces and generated sales of $8.8 billion.
Besides, Bucherer has established itself as an internationally recognized watch retailer, with around 100 points of sale worldwide. According to a 2017 Forbes article, the Bucherer Group achieved estimated sales of 1.5 billion Swiss francsin 2016, with the net worth of third-generation owner Jörg Bucherer standing at 1.75 billion Swiss francs.
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