Rolex acquires building that houses rival Omega on priciest Geneva street for $133 million
Rolex SA has acquired the building that was home to rival Omega's flagship boutique. The building was located at Rue du Rhone, known as the priciest shopping street in the Swiss capital of Geneva. It has been acquired by Marconi Investment SA, the subsidiary of Rolex, for $133 million (129 million Swiss francs), Bloomberg reported, citing a filing with Geneva's land registry.
Swatch Group AG, the parent entity of Omega, has its biggest boutique listed as a tenant in the property that has now been bought by the Rolex subsidiary, the news agency further reported, citing local newspaper Tribune de Geneve. Also Read: Rolex’s direct retail stake may shake up a big seller’s market Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels. Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights! Click here! According to the Swiss newspaper, a new owner can terminate an existing lease under certain conditions.
Until the agreement is terminated, Omega will have to pay the rent for the boutique to Rolex. The two companies were yet to issue a statement on the development by the time the preliminary reports had emerged. Notably, Rolex is the biggest watch brand of Switzerland, with sales of 9.3 billion Swiss francs.
Omega is a distant third, with sales of 2.5 billion francs. On number two is Cartier, owned by Geneva-based luxury goods company Richemont. The competition between Rolex and Omega heated up in August, after the former announced that it would acquire Bucherer AG, a Swiss luxury watch retailer, along with its 100 global boutiques.
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