Retail


Les Ambassadeurs: the “doors” concept

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November 2017


Les Ambassadeurs: the “doors” concept

“From the beginning we had a very clear strategy and positioning as a multibrand retailer." Les Ambassadeurs: the “doors” concept

O

ur concept is unique and the brands realised the added value for them as well. We have our own brand identity with the famous “Doors Concept” (one “symbolic” door for each brand) that has become iconic the world over.

We have seen major changes in Switzerland in 2015 with a very unfavourable exchange rate, resulting in new travelling and buying habits for tourists and locals alike. In 2016 we were able to stabilise results, also thanks to the opening of our new boutique in Lucerne. And we are now about to grow our second retail brand called Watches of Switzerland, for which we will be opening our third boutique beginning of 2018 in Interlaken.

During these last years, we paid more attention to adjusting our range and have the right offer with a good mix of special pieces, best sellers and new watches. Business has continually picked up over the last few months with positive growth compared to last year in just about every boutique and every segment.

Les Ambassadeurs: the “doors” concept

For the last 5 years we had a multibrand watchfinder on our website, which now includes more than 4,500 watches from 30 different brands. You can make your own selection and set an appointment online to see the watches in our boutiques. Five years ago, that was a revolution, but it has become standard today. The experience we gained through that tool helps us today for our next step that we are currently working on: ecommerce.

I am very positive about the future, if retailers and brands alike are ready to adapt flexibly to the challenges ahead. I think it will be a perfect combination between online and offline, one nurturing the other to create more demand and traffic. Online will create new opportunities for the traditional business in boutiques. But at the end of the day, service quality will make the difference.

Accordingly, we train every day to stay ahead of the crowd. In order to live up to our claim “The Leading House of Leading Names,” training is one of the key elements of our success. We offer regular training courses for our sales force internally and encourage them to attend as many of the courses offered by our brands as possible.”

ABOUT

Name: Les Ambassadeurs
Launch date: 1964
Boutiques: Zurich, Geneva, Lucerne, Lugano, St. Moritz
Brands represented: (Watches) A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Bell & Ross, Blancpain, Bovet, Breguet, Breitling, Cartier, Chanel, Franck Muller, Girard-Perregaux, Greubel Forsey, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Hermès, Jaquet Droz, Longines, Omega, Panerai, Parmigiani, Roger Dubuis, Ulysse Nardin, Urwerk, Vacheron Constantin, Vulcain; (Jewellery) Diamonds of Excellence, Graff, Messika, Mikimoto, Ole Lynggaard, Pasquale Bruni, Pomellato, Wellendorff
Website: www.lesambassadeurs.ch