| Watches of Switzerland | |
| Type: | Public limited company |
| Foundation: | 1924 |
| Location: | Braunstone, England, UK |
| Key People: | Ian Carter, (Chairman) Brian Duffy, (CEO) |
| Industry: | Watches and jewellery |
| Revenue: | £1,537.9 million (2024)[1] |
| Operating Income: | £120.0 million (2024) |
| Net Income: | £59.1 million (2024) |
Watches of Switzerland is a British retailer of watches. The company headquarters is in Braunstone, England.[2] It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Watches of Switzerland was founded in Ludgate Hill in 1924.[3] During the late 1970s Theo Paphitis, the entrepreneur, worked as a sales assistant at the Bond Street Watches of Switzerland store in London.[4]
The business was acquired by Ratners in 1988[5] and then sold on to Asprey in 1992.[6] [7] In December 1998, Mappin & Webb managing director, Judith Pilkington, acquired Watches of Switzerland from Asprey, together with Mappin & Webb.[8] [9] [10] [11] Both companies were acquired by Baugur Group in November 2005.[10] Goldsmiths also came under the control of Baugur Group in 2007.[12] [13]
The combined business (Watches of Switzerland, Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths) was then bought by Landsbanki in 2009 before coming under the control of Apollo Global Management in 2013.[3] The company was briefly known as Aurum Holdings before re-branding itself as Watches of Switzerland in advance of an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange in May 2019.[3]
The company operates 221 stores in the UK, US and Europe,[14] spread across the Watches of Switzerland, Mappin & Webb, Goldsmiths, Mayors and Betteridge brands. This includes 96 dedicated mono-brand boutiques in partnership with Rolex, Omega, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Tudor, Audemars Piguet, Seiko, Bulgari and Fope.[15]