Edouard Meylan Walks Us Through the Opening of H. Moser & Cie.'s First Flagship Boutique

H. Moser & Cie. has just opened the doors to its first flagship in the world. While the watch brand technically did have roots in Russia over a century ago, this is the first physical flagship for the brand’s modern direction since being helmed by the Meylan family.

Sitting in the heart of the financial district in Hong Kong between the likes of Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe, the H. Moser & Cie. flagship boutique breaks from tradition with its design-focused interior, high-ceiling, contrasting deep-blue furniture, and vertical displays. If it wasn’t for the watches, one might mistake the space is an art gallery.

“Hong Kong is a key market for us. We have had a dedicated team based in Hong Kong since 2013, doing a great job to spread the Moser spirit. Our strategy here, like in the rest of the world, is to grow the Moser family, get to know our community as well as possible and provide them with the best level of service. We are proud to open our very first boutique, especially in a top location like Pedder Street in Central, and we expect to meet lots of Moser lovers and friends there, reinforcing our relationship with them.” Mr. Edouard Meylan, the brand’s CEO, remarks.

Working with Masterpiece by King Fook, the two kicked things off by presenting the Endeavour Concept Minute Repeater Tourbillon Aqua Blue in Hong Kong for the first time. Paulette Sum, CEO of King Fook Holdings Ltd, comments, “Masterpiece by King Fook and H. Moser & Cie. is delighted to form a partnership that is based on the philosophies and values that we share and cherish. We look forward to introducing the fascinating timepieces by H. Moser & Cie. to the watch collectors and aficionados in Hong Kong.”

Interested in learning more, we sat down with H. Moser & Cie. CEO Edouard Meylan to find out just what went into bringing this flagship to life. As the independent watch brand continues to rise, we wanted to look back at the evolution of the brand and how it made it to Central’s Pedder Street in just a decade, as well as some lessons Meylan learned while running the “Very Rare” brand.

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A first boutique is big news, especially one located in Central, Hong Kong. Was this in the works for a while?

The idea has been in our heads since we took over. The objective was to eventually open up boutiques and we thought this would have happened earlier but we didn’t fully understand the dynamics needed. We put it on hold as there was so much to fix with the brand, then in 2019 we revisited the idea and looked at locations.

We started speaking with potential partners and looking for opportunities. It was between Dubai and Hong Kong. Dubai absolutely wanted to be first but it came down to finding the right spot. King Fook approached us with this location and it worked. We had looked at many places in Hong Kong and were not 100 percent sold on any except for this one. So for this location, it has been less than a year but the interest has been there since the beginning.

Why Hong Kong? Are you see a particularly high number of sales here?

Not really. We have global clients but it is true that Hong Kong is a very mature market, and we have a strong team here that can lead a project like this. Even when we can’t travel, we have a trusted team. And yes, there is that slight added benefit that people in Hong Kong are especially tuned into the Moser brand.

You mentioned that you needed to figure out some things with the Moser branding in the earlier stages. What were some of the things that you needed to work on?

It was all about what to keep and what to change that was already set in place by the previous owners. There are too many brands out there so what makes our brand relevant? How can we make it sexy combined with an amazing product? We needed to improve the language. It is not about having the biggest marketing budget but rather being different, provocative, and having fun. This is what attracts our loyal fans.

You guys are known for being disrupters in the watch industry. I feel like some of the playfulness has slowed down these past few years. Is this because you guys have changed up the strategy?

You need the right ideas. It has always been about the exploration of new territories. We try and be very human. In fact, there is going to be a big launch soon. It doesn’t have to be cheeky but rather about being pioneers at things. The entrepreneurial spirit. Being independent. The product is always serious.

As Moser grows and the watch brand takes on an entity on its own, will that ever take some of the attention away from Precision Engineering AG? Will we ever see a tradeoff on the scale of each respective entity?

We’d probably never scale down that part of our business. Creating 200,000 hairsprings is much easier than 2,000 watches for us. We can scale that up to 500,000 in the next few years. Our focus is to expand our capacity and our capabilities. We are looking to integrate some of our suppliers and master things that we don’t do today. We want to grow our skill set.

Would Moser ever step outside of watches if the branding grew to the next level i.e something like jewelry?

That’s not the plan. We want to stay close to our core business. We aren’t a Cartier or a Bvlgari. Look at Rolex. They could probably sell anything — skis, bikes… but they don’t do it. The smaller you are, the more important it is to be clean and clear. Even doing ladies’ watches can blur your image.

On the topic of lifestyle, the collaboration with UNDFTD was unexpected. What was it like working with a team from such a different industry?

It was an amazing experience. It was LA style that meets Schaffhausen’s style. Our working processes are so different. We were bringing all kinds of elements from different worlds. I am always looking for opportunities to do fun collaborations. 2022 was about the world of fashion with UNDFTD and The Armoury, and I think the next exploration we have will involve the history of the Moser brand.

While Moser does have its Four Pillars of watches, it seems like the Streamliner has its own fanbase and has branched out on its own. Is Moser going to double down on that model’s success?

The Streamliner is polarizing. Many old customers didn’t like it but eventually came back as it grew on them. It is something you need to hold and see in person. It is a complex design so it requires some time to understand. That being said, we keep things balanced. The Streamliner gets love, but we also released the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon and the lime green Endeavor. Balance is important but so is keeping each model distinct.

How much emphasis does Moser put in the research and development of its products? While the brand itself is rooted in traditional watchmaking from 200 years ago, a lot of the new releases are quite technical.

We have a team of four and all they do is work full-time on development. Some developments are for next year and some are as far as 2028. We have ambitious projects that take 5 – 6 years to finish.

What are some of the things you learned that you had no idea about when you took over in 2012?

It is funny because we recently had a meeting with all our partners and I dug up a presentation from 10 years ago. A lot of the stuff we actually implemented. I was surprised as I thought we were mainly learning as we were going but we actually had a lot of these ideas back then. For example, the Streamliner was an idea I had 7 years ago. It has evolved but the idea I had back then was pretty much the same. The brand was just not ready at the time. There were certain things I was certain about and bold in thinking, like when I thought we would grow quickly to 3,000 – 4,000 watches. I thought it would be much easier. Then there were things I had no idea about like positioning and resolving our cash crisis.

It is really a process. There are always going to be people challenging you, and you don’t need to change if it works. Social media was rough for us. Whatever we did, people would destroy us on social media. When we launched “Very Rare” people were saying it was the most stupid thing, but how many brands have memorable tag lines? Be confident. We have no choice but to be different, and when you are different, there are always going to be people questioning you. The worst thing that can happen is that you fail, get back up, and start again.

My previous job was also in the luxury category, and that failed. A lot of people would be like I wish that never happened or how terrible, but on the contrary, a lot of things we are doing right now are because of the experience from our previous job. It helped me a lot.

It is funny because in Switzerland you see a failure as something so negative but in America, it is more like you need to go through failures to become successful. That’s really a different mentality, and I agree with the Americans on that.

H. Moser & Cie. Flagship Boutique
Shop 11, G/F, Central Building,
1-3 Pedder Street, Central, H.K.

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