LVMH-owned Swiss luxury timepiece brand Hublot has opened its first freestanding Canadian boutique, in Vancouver. Located in the heart of the city’s expanding ‘Luxury Zone’, the 2,800 square foot store is one of Hublot’s largest globally.

The two-level store boasts of a wide assortment of watch styles, including several limited-edition models. Hublot watches are crafted to precision. From in-house watch complications, including award-winning minute repeaters and tourbillons, to revolutionary materials such as patented and scratch resistant Magic Gold, colored Texalium carbon fiber, and transparent sapphire cases to world class collaborations such as Ferrari, FIFA™ World Cup, and Italia Independent, Hublot characterizes itself through the "Art of Fusion" philosophy, 'bringing tradition into the future'.

Vancouver’s Hublot store is located within ‘The Carlyle’ retail complex at 1080 Alberni Street, next to De Beers. Hublot’s secured the last vacant Alberni Street-facing retail space within The Carlyle, which now houses luxury brands including Prada, Tory Burch, Saint Laurent and Moncler. Brodie Henrichsen, principal at Northwest Atlantic, negotiated the lease on behalf of the retailer while Mario Negris and Martin Moriarty of CBRE Vancouver acted on behalf of the landlord.

Hublot was founded in Switzerland in 1980 by Italian Carlo Crocco — a scion of the Italian Binda Group dynasty, best known for making Breil watches. Hublot is named after the French word for “porthole”, and the first watch that he created featured the first natural rubber strap in the history of watchmaking — a feat that took three years of research to create. In 1998, Hublot was acquired by French luxury conglomerate LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), and it continues to operate as a subsidiary.

Hublot operates freestanding stores in a number of global cities. On a commercial level, the network of stores currently stands at more than 70 exclusive boutiques around the world. In the United States, Hublot stores are in New York City, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Orlando, Florida. The Miami area boasts four Hublot stores — in Bal Harbour, Miami Design District, Boca Raton and in Palm Beach.

*Photos were provided courtesy of Hublot.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: July 24, 2017