1 million euros in Helvetansa multibrand luxury store

Helvetansa has invested one million euros in a multibrand luxury watch and jewellery store, the first of its kind on the Romanian market, which will open this week. In an over 250 square-metre store on Calea Victoriei, the company brings Chanel and Moser watches, as well as leather accessories and Cartier’s Marcello handbags onto the Romanian market for the first time. They will join other luxury watches and jewellery manufacturers already present in Helvetansa’s portfolio, such as Panerai, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, and Boucheron. “There will be 18 brands in all, with the ground floor dedicated to watches and jewellery, while accessories will be sold in the store’s basement level. There will also be a VIP room, dedicated to special clients,” Adrian Stoican, Helvetansa’s Managing Director, told Ziarul Financiar exclusively. Helvetansa already operates two watches and jewellery stores. Stoican estimates the new store will contribute around 60-70% of the 4 million-euro turnover expected for 2009. “Luxury clients continue to buy special products, although they have also had moments of doubt,” explains Stoican, who adds that the most expensive product sold this year was an 85,000-euro Daniel Roth watch. The Helvetansa store on Calea Victoriei is just the first in a series of new stores to be opened in spaces left empty on Bucharest’s main shopping street. The opening of the Continental hotel in October will also see its ground floor stores open, one of which will be operated by Micri Gold. Cellini, another major player on the watch and jewellery market, will open a new store across the street from the Radisson SAS hotel.