Bucherer Acquires West Coast Retailer, Adds Messika in Bid for U.S. Growth
Bucherer is growing its U.S. operations. In 2018, the company — which is well established as a fine watch and jewelry retailer in Europe — merged with Tourneau to stake a foothold in the U.S. market. Now two more deals demonstrate how that strategy is evolving.
Bucherer said Wednesday it has acquired West Coast retailer Leeds & Son, a heritage watch and jewelry store in Palm Desert, California, in order to help further develop a client base in that state. The company was founded in 1947 by Edward and Eleanore Weiner and was modernized when their children Terry Weiner and Riki Stein took over the business in 1981. It offers brands including Rolex and Patek Philippe to a discerning West Coast-based clientele.
More from WWD
Tourneau Bucherer chief executive officer Ira Melnitsky said of the acquisition: “We’re excited to welcome the Leeds & Son team to the Bucherer family and expand our customer relationships in California. The Leeds & Son team has worked tremendously hard to foster a loyal community and we are looking forward to building on that success.”
When Bucherer opened a renovated Tourneau Time Machine flagship in Manhattan in September 2021, the company’s in-house fine jewelry line was a key focus to drive awareness for Tourneau’s new owners in the U.S.
Now the company is adding a vendor to its fine jewelry mix. Messika is expanding its “successful” strategic retail partnership with Bucherer to the U.S. market.
Messika is already carried in all of Bucherer’s stores across Europe. Now it will gradually phase into all of the company’s U.S. stores in a bid for increased visibility in what is the world’s largest luxury market. Messika operates three of its own stores in the U.S. as well in Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
Messika will first appear in Bucherer’s Time Machine flagship in Manhattan and will also expand into its King of Prussia Mall location in Pennsylvania, its Roosevelt Field Mall location in New York and the TimeDome flagship in Las Vegas.
“In this highly competitive market, visibility and exposure are key. With the dedicated Messika spaces in Bucherer’s newly renovated stores, we can express the unique identity of Messika while being surrounded by the strongest brands in the industry,” said Messika managing director Jean-Baptiste Sassine.
Melnitsky added: “We’re very excited to welcome Messika to our Bucherer U.S. flagship and are looking forward to a long-term partnership across multiple locations. We’ve seen tremendous success with Bucherer and jewelry in the U.S. and know this partnership will continue to drive growth for both brands.”
