I don’t do business with watches, I do business with people
“I don’t do business with watches, I do business with people,” John Simonian, owner of Westime and the Hublot boutique in Beverly Hills, said to me recently during an informal chat. I had asked him about the kind of watches he personally likes to wear, and he made it clear to me that he’s “jaded after forty years in the watch industry.” However, when I probed further, asking about his relationship to brands he works with closely, his eyes lit up. “I love Richard [Mille] and [Hublot’s] Jean-Claude [Biver], they’re great personalities and we do good business.”
Simonian’s stores have done particularly well with these two brands as well. His Westime locations on West Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, and La Jolla, now run by his son Greg, both carry Richard Mille and Hublot. Additionally, two years ago, in April 2011, Simonian opened a stand-alone Hublot Boutique on Rodeo Drive of about 170 square meters.
“About forty per cent of our clients are locals, and I would say they are mostly multi-watch buyers,” Simonian reveals regarding the two-year old boutique, whose grand opening in late September 2011 included a visit from Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt. “People buy one Hublot, then they come buy another one…for some of them it’s a regular purchase. It’s a feel-good thing…ever heard of retail therapy?” he quips.
Luxury lifestyle
In Los Angeles, Hublot is part of the luxury lifestyle. “People collect Louboutin shoes, they’ll collect Hublot watches,” the retailer, who will visit Baselworld for the fortieth time in 2014, explains.
Hublot is the right look at the right moment
“Hublot is the right look at the right moment,” he says of the near-hype surrounding the Big Bang. “Other brands slowed down a little bit, and they took the space. When gold went high, they came out with gold watches at the right price.” Simonian also explains that the Nyon-based brand is not afraid to sponsor big events, sporting and otherwise. “You know, you spend it and you collect it,” he quips again.
Turning back to the Rodeo Drive Hublot boutique, Simonian explains that they do a lot. “We really cater to the customer, make them understand why they are spending $10,000, $15,000, $20,000, and $25,000 for an Hublot. We are the fourth best-performing Hublot boutique in the world.” He also reveals that he may expand into other Californian cities with new Hublot boutiques. “But I’m not going to jump into opening a store just for the sake of opening a store; it has to be the right location.”
Simonian cites his friendship with Biver as the driving force behind his immense success with the Hublot boutique. “It’s easy. I want to make a limited edition, I make a phone call. I say, ‘Hey, I need this.’ Poof, a week later it’s done. You know, there’s no waiting. There is no red tape.”
Oh, and back to my original question? “I have an Hublot,” Simonian reveals. “But I have the Beverly Hills special limited edition Hublot. That’s what I like.”
