News The Schaffhouse based watch manufacturer IWC has just opened its first European shop in Zurich, at number 37 on the famous Bahnhofstrasse. Geneva will be following suite later in the year.
Flanked by tennis star Boris Becker, triathlon champion Natascha Badmann and the Mayor of the city of Zurich Elmar Ledergerber, Georges Kern inaugurated his company’s first European store on 14 December last year. Located at Bahnhofstrasse 37 and designed by the IWC Creative Center under the direction of Guy Bove, it has a floor space of 55 m2. The black, white and grey decor is luxurious, but reduced to essentials, thereby emphasising the technical character of the company.
In the store, clients wishing to acquire their IWC watch in a setting deeply impregnated with brand identity will find themselves immersed in an atmosphere of luxury watchmaking. The sobriety of the space reflects the company’s philosophy. Here, everything is focused on the central theme: the complex technology of IWC watches. The store offers the entire range of exclusive chronographs displaying the three famous letters. From the Portofino to the Grande Complication, IWC watches are available in a variety of prices, including all specialities synonymous with luxury watchmaking and all product groups, from the Portugaises to the new Les Ingenieurs collection, not forgetting aviator’s and diver’s watches. Clients eager to discover the world of IWC will obtain all the technical information they could desire and will learn interesting facts about the manufacturer’s history and tradition, as well as how different product groups have evolved.
"Zurich and Schaffhouse are getting closer," said a delighted Georges Kern. "After opening stores in Dubai, Las Vegas, Singapore and Hong Kong, it is a great pleasure to have premises of such standing in the centre of Zurich." For Andreas Bösch, in charge of the Swiss market at IWC, it was a stroke of good fortune to be able to bring in agent ZM Zett-Meyer AG, a longstanding partner, to manage the store. The location on the Bahnhofstrasse is moreover the kind of location dreams are made of: "It is a great privilege for IWC to be able to open its first European store at such a famous address."
The Zurich shop will not be unique in Europe for long: later this year, another IWC point of sale will open its doors in Switzerland, on Geneva’s famous Rue du Rhône.
January 24, 2006
