Andrew reveals plan to open a Time+Tide NYC Discovery Studio to Financial Times
Zach Blass- Time+Tide is seeking to raise £3 million in private investment to open a retail space in New York.
- The current Discovery Studios, located in Melbourne and London, opened in August 2023 and October 2024 respectively.
- The “alternative retail environments” aim to be hubs of watch culture and discovery for brands largely not found in brick-and-mortar spaces.
I live in New York City, and I’m a proud-born and raised NYC native as well. However, it does not take my 31 years as a New York City resident to know that there are ample watch boutiques in the Big Apple. To be clear, there are plenty in London and Melbourne as well. But while most would find opening a retail space very intimidating, we at Time+Tide find comfort in the fact that, despite there being plenty of brick-and-mortar locations to view and purchase watches in the world, there is nothing in watch retail today that is like our Discovery Studios – and as Andrew recently revealed to Financial Times, our sights are now on NYC, my home town, for our third Discovery Studio.
In classic Time+Tide style, this new dimension for the business has expanded rapidly. Our first Discovery Studio in Melbourne opened its doors in August 2023 and just a little over a year later, we opened in London by the end of October 2024. The not-so-secret sauce of success for the Melbourne Discovery Studio, prompting a quick follow-up in London, is the element of “alternative retail”. Editorially at Time+Tide, the team is always tasked with finding the “Time+Tide twist” in our coverage. Knowing we are not the only media outlet within the space, the goal is to always bring a distinguishing on-brand element to what we do – and our retail endeavours are no different. As Andrew explained to Kate Youde of Financial Times, rather than seeking out just salespeople to work on the floors of our Discovery Studios, our hiring pool is limited to clear watch enthusiasts.
While the suit and tie, buttoned-up, and traditional luxury spaces may afford an elevated sense of luxury, the stuffiness can at times feel intimidating and unwelcoming. Our Discovery Studios, on the other hand, are meant to be a breath of fresh air, a safe space for watch lovers to come together for events and geek out or discover a unique assortment of watches you would be hard-pressed to find in any other physical watch retail environment such as Baltic, Furlan Marri, and Studio Underd0g, or bigger brands that have yet to plant their own flags like Hamilton and Doxa, two brands which we were the first to retail in Australia.
Ask anyone who has been a watch enthusiast or collector for quite some time, and all, without fail, can regal you with a horrific experience or feeling after visiting a traditional retail space for watches. I will never forget the sound of the Rolex salesperson’s laugh when I inquired about a Rolex GMT-Master II “Pepsi”. I was well aware I could not have one right away, simply wanting to throw my hat in the ring and wait it out patiently. Instead, I was met with a dismissive laugh, leaving the AD offended and without even being offered a contact card to fill out to put my details on file. Had I done that to a client when I worked as a watch specialist at Piaget, I would have been fired on the spot. By no means am I claiming every traditional retail experience in New York City watch boutiques ends in disappointment, but it does happen and even one bad experience is too many.
This is ultimately why it is so exciting to begin working towards a NYC Discovery Studio, with our goal to raise 3£M secured through one to four private investors by the end of June 2025. In-person retail within New York City is a huge hurdle to overcome with the expense of real estate, which is why many microbrands and horological start-ups are not capable of giving watch enthusiasts ‘in the metal’ retail experiences in one of the biggest watch hubs in the world. This is where our Discovery Studios distinctly come into the picture, creating a safe space for watch fans to explore new brands and for the brands to have a venue for this interaction to happen that they would not have otherwise.
With the FT quoting that Australia accounted for 1.8% of Swiss watch exports in 2023, and the UK and USA accounting for 7% and 17.5% respectively, America – and NYC in particular – stands to be a major opportunity for both Time+Tide and the brands we work with, opening the door to some incredible new possibilities for all involved. Time+Tide, watch brands, and watch buyers, all stand to greatly benefit from a T+T NYC Studio.
I do not want to further cannibalise Youde’s excellent report on this development. So, to get into the nitty gritty of it all down to the pence, be sure to head to Financial Times for the full article. And be sure to stay tuned for more developments and progress reports regarding the Time+Tide New York City Discovery Studio. I, for one, can’t wait.