News At No. 40 on 57th Street (between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue), in the heart of the New York "fashion district", the new Audemars Piguet boutique, the first of its kind in the United States, opened its doors on 19 May 2003. It sells the brand's full range, together with the Royal Oak La Mer jewellery collection created by Alberto Repossi.
The boutique occupies an entire five-storey building. One floor is dedicated entirely to special events. The offices of Audemars Piguet North America occupy the last two floors. The architect, Marco Carrano, who has worked with such prominent customers as Bulgari and Ferragamo, has been selected to implement this project. Xavier Casals, who has been cooperating with Audemars Piguet for many years, was given the contract for the interior decoration work.
The Managing Director of the Le Brassus manufacturing company, Georges-Henri Meylan, comments: "The inauguration of our first boutique in the United States reflects the strategy that we have put in place during the last few years for distribution and retail trade in order to establish closer ties with the final consumer. We control the bulk of our global distribution through our subsidiaries and boutiques. This enables us to control the image of our brand and establish a direct dialogue with our customers ".
François-Henry Bennahmias, Chairman of Audemars Piguet North America, adds: "Since we took over distribution in the USA in 1999, the brand has been successfully repositioned. The opening of an Audemars Piguet store will enable us to increase the American public's familiarity with our name, so making our corporate values better known, i.e. tradition, excellence and innovation. This is a splendid operation and we are certain we have made the right choice ".
May 29, 2003