Tokyo (SCCIJ) – Swiss watchmaker Tudor Watch has officially entered the Japanese market with a mixture of a prominent retail partner and several pop-up shops in Tokyo and Osaka. The timing of this move of the brand from Geneva is mainly due to the Rugby World Cup which will take place in Japan from September 20 to November 2, 2019. Tudor Watch is the official timekeeper of the tournament. This will secure big attention for the brand in the Japanese market. Also, over the last couple of years, Tudor Watch, the “sister brand” of Rolex, has been making a successful comeback in major large markets. This has encouraged the management to also enter Japan.
Four pop-up boutiques
Even people who do not know much about watches may be surprised that a major brand like Tudor has not been selling watches in Japan so far. After all, Japan is one of the top 5 markets worldwide for Swiss watches. But this absence ended on Wednesday, October 31, 2018, when regular retail sales began. Tudor plans to establish a network of prominent retail partners. For the start, Tudor watches are offered in Tokyo at the Isetan Shinjuku department store in the jewelry and watches section.
Recent Tudor Watch model
Simultaneously, Tudor started two pop-up boutiques in the Tokyo department stores Daimaru and Takashimaya (Nihonbashi). Both temporary stores will stay open until November 13. Two more pop-up shops opened in Osaka – one at Tokyu Hands Osaka (until Nov 6) and the other at Takashimaya Osaka Store (until December 25). The main opening event was at the Daimaru department store in Tokyo where some members of the “All Blacks” were present as brand ambassadors. The “All Blacks” are the New Zealand national rugby team.
Two members of the "All Blacks" promote Tudor brand at the Daimaru store in Tokyo
Banking on Japanese fans
Eric Pirson, Director of Montres Tudor S.A., said in a statement to the press, “The partners that Tudor selected for this launch are among the most high-profile and prestigious watch retailers in the country. They are offering Tudor a strong presence in their most prominent location.” He continued, “With this presence in the Japanese market, alongside our key openings in the U.S. (2013), the U.K. (2014) and the Korean domestic market earlier this year, Tudor is now truly a global brand that is represented in close to 100 countries worldwide.”
The timing of the move is connected with the Rugby World Cup which takes place in Japan for the first time ever. Another reason for Tudor to come to Japan: It is becoming one of the strongest watch markets in the world, up more than ten percent through the first nine months of 2018. Finally, the Tudor management has been encouraged by the surprisingly strong popularity of the brand in the U.S. and U.K. markets which were re-entered after a long period of absence. Tudor may suspect that there are also many fans of its watches in Japan.
About Tudor Watches
Montres Tudor (SA) is a subsidiary of Rolex SA which designs, manufactures, distributes and services wristwatches sold under the Rolex and Tudor brands. Rolex SA was originally founded by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in 1905. With Tudor, Wilsdorf wanted to provide to authorized Rolex dealers a product that offered the reliability and dependability of a Rolex at a lower price. Initially, movements were bought ex-house to make this possible. Since 2015 however, Tudor has begun to manufacture watches with in-house movements. The company is owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a private family trust.
Text: Martin Fritz for SCCIJ; Photo (top): Tudor; Photo (Middle): Facebook/Tudor
