Lady LUX

Fine watchmaker Tourneau just unveiled a concept store on Madison Avenue – and it is not your ordinary store, reported WWD.

Located at 510 Madison Ave., the 3,135-square-foot space represents the label’s third freestanding retail outfit in the United States and its first in New York.

The store, however, marks not just a new location; it also presents a new business concept. The store breaks from the company’s traditional model used in its other 38 retail locations, by featuring a layout focused around “counterless selling.” The counters are accessible from both sides, allowing salespeople to stand next to shoppers when displaying watches, while a seating area permits sales personnel to chat further with customers.

“As a company we are looking to modernize the process of watch-buying, by using new technologies and ways of engagement to shape the customer’s experience,” Jim Seuss, CEO, said to WWD.

The watch company has also gone high tech: The Manhattan store includes an LCD video tower that displays brand or trend information. A discovery wall showcases specific styles, allowing labels to tell their story digitally.

Moreover, the new store has been designed with an eye to lighting, featuring a series of vertical wooden shutters to divide the front windows and LED lighting of various strengths to permit shoppers to examine the watches under different lighting conditions.

The unit was designed by Eight Inc., the same company that helped launch the first 300 Apple stores, and features more than 30 different brands.

“It’s a clean, modern and a new look to luxury retail and the product is still hero,” Eight Inc.’s principal Wilhelm Oehl said. “It’s a new way of interacting. There’s no longer a person behind the counter, you’re side by side. Every element has been designed to make the experience of selecting a watch easy.”

Tourneau shut its previous location on Madison Avenue at 52nd Street, but its flagship on 57th Street, Tourneau TimeMachine, is still open.

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