Paul Sheeran Jewellers has agreed a deal with investment group Hines to lease the entire ground floor of a new Chatham & King development off Grafton Street, where he plans to sell watches from some of the biggest luxury watch brands, including Cartier, Breitling, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Panerai.
This will involve a €4 million investment by Sheeran and the watch manufacturers for units covering more than 7,000sq ft on 10-year leases.
He hopes to open the doors to the new retail strip on Chatham Street in November, in time for the busy Christmas trading period when his company would normally earn about one-third of its annual income.
Sheeran founded his business 30 years ago and sells diamonds and watches from a nearby store at the Westbury Mall, where its workshop is also located.
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He intends to retain that premises, but to focus there on diamonds, with only a limited range of watches available. He expects staff numbers in the group to double to around 40.
There will be six individual “boutiques”, which Sheeran says is a first for watch brands in Ireland. Cartier, Breitling, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai and TAG Heuer will all have their own shops.
Four of the brands – Breitling, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Panerai – will be exclusive to Sheeran in Ireland, while Cartier, Hublot and Panerai are new brands to the retailer.
Mr Sheeran told The Irish Times that the new development would make it “more of a destination” for people who want to buy a quality watch here.
“It’s the way our industry works now worldwide and for the end user it will be a better environment to shop in.”
He expects most of the watches sold will be in the €1,000-€10,000 range, but some pieces could go as high as €100,000.
Mr Sheeran remains positive about the future of bricks and mortar retail in spite of the shift to ecommerce, which accelerated during the pandemic.
“When you’re spending a few thousand on a watch you want to feel it, you want to try it on. You don’t just want to press a button and open a box. There are so many questions you’ll have about how to wind it or adjust the clasp.”
Brian Moran, senior managing director of Hines Ireland, said the letting was a “perfect match” for the development.
“It is one of the most exciting retail developments to happen in the city centre for many years, and also represents a new chapter for Chatham Street, which is currently seeing significant transformation. It reflects the underlying strength of high street retail and is evidence of strong future growth in this area.”
The Chatham & King portfolio comprises more than 106,000sq ft. of prime retail and offices space as well as six residential units. It is owned and managed by the Hines European Core Fund (HECF).
Tenants include global data analytics management firm Qualtrics, and retailers Zara and H&M.
