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Ice-Watch to invest €6 million in Belgium

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December 2013


The Ice-Watch brand was established in Bastogne in December 2006 and has had offices there since the start. The brand has chosen to consolidate its presence in this Belgian city by investing in a European warehousing and distribution centre.

The building – with a surface area of more than 6,000 sq.m. – will be ready in the summer of 2014. Besides serving as a warehouse facility for timepieces for the European market Ice-Watch will also install a European repair centre here and in the medium term a watch assembly line. A first for Belgium!

A 3D rendering of the future Ice-Watch European warehouse and distribution centre in Bastogne
A 3D rendering of the future Ice-Watch European warehouse and distribution centre in Bastogne

The Ice-Watch timepieces, which are designed in Belgium, are manufactured in Shenzhen and distributed worldwide from Hong Kong, where the company’s logistics and distribution services are established. On the one hand the brand relies on Belgian know-how in terms of design, management, market coordination and networking to distinguish itself from the competition. On the other hand the technological and organisational skills available in Hong Kong and Shenzhen allow Ice-Watch to produce and distribute quality timepieces at a competitive price.

By strengthening its presence in the company’s nerve centre in Bastogne, ICE SA is pursuing its investment policy in the key sectors which have contributed to its success from the start.

Ideally located, in the centre of Europe
Situated at the crossroads of five countries, the Province of Luxembourg is particularly well located for logistics and distribution activities throughout Europe.

Ice-Watch’s European warehousing centre will cover a surface area of 3,000 sq.m. and can stock up to one million watches. These will be shipped from Asia to Belgium, from where they can be distributed all over Europe from Bastogne.

The proximity of the key markets will allow the brand to supply watches to its partners by truck, whereas in the past these had to be delivered by plane from Hong Kong. At the same time Ice-Watch will also have a permanent overview of its stocks thanks to the coordination from Bastogne.

A 3D rendering of the future Ice-Watch European warehouse and distribution centre in Bastogne
A 3D rendering of the future Ice-Watch European warehouse and distribution centre in Bastogne

The Ice-Watch timepieces, more Belgian than ever
As well as being a warehousing facility from the summer of 2014 onwards the new building will also house a 2,500 sq.m. repair centre for the European market.

Although Ice-Watch has succeeded in producing and selling watches which are of a superior quality in its segment – including water resistance up to 10 ATM for all its models, a screwed back and super-strong materials such as polyamide – many of the brand’s customers are quite attached to their timepieces. The brand cannot therefore afford not to offer seamless after-sales service.

That is why the Ice-Watch brand was the first watch brand to provide its customers with a repair tracking system allowing them to monitor the repair process online with a login and password which they receive from their retailer. Once the watch is fixed they receive an e-mail that they can pick it up in the retailer’s store.

The construction of a European repair centre in Bastogne will allow the Ice-Watch brand to centralise all its spare parts while controlling the entire repair process in order to assure even better quality.

Finally, in 2015, the Ice-Watch brand will complete a project which is unique for Belgium and which it is particularly proud of: a watch assembly line. In the future some of the brand’s collections will thus be assembled in Bastogne.

20 to 100 direct jobs over a two-year period
Ice-Watch currently has a workforce of 40 in Bastogne, who work in marketing, design, development, sales and management.

The opening of a European warehousing facility and repairs centre will create another twenty jobs, increasing the company’s workforce by 50%.

The watch assembly line, which should be completed by 2015, will create up to 80 additional jobs.

600 sq.m. dedicated to contemporary art
The CEO of Ice-Watch, Jean-Pierre Lutgen, is passionate about contemporary art, which is why he is taking advantage of the new-build in Bastogne’s no. 2 business park to combine his professional interests with his passion. The new building will also have a 600 sq. m. art gallery which will house a contemporary art collection, which is perfectly in keeping with the new watch collections that are redesigned with renowned international contemporary artists.

Practical details
The building, which has been created by the architects Gérard Courtoy and Vincent Boveroux and which is being built in the no. 2 business park in Bastogne by Houyoux Constructions (Marloie), will be completed by the summer of 2014. A surface area of 3.000 sq.m. will be used for the warehouse facility and the future assembly line, the remaining 2.500 sq.m. will be used for offices and a repair centre as well as a 600 sq.m. art gallery.