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Company That Bought Tourneau Snaps Up Another US Retailer
Bucherer USA now owns Baron & Leeds, which has stores and Rolex boutiques in Hawaii and California.
Swiss retailer and watch manufacturer Bucherer, the company that bought Tourneau earlier this year, has acquired another U.S. retail chain, Baron & Leeds. Baron & Leeds has a total of four locations in California and Hawaii, two Rolex boutiques and two eponymous stores.
New York—Bucherer USA, the parent company of Tourneau and the U.S. arm of Swiss company Bucherer, announced late Monday that it has purchased U.S. retailer Baron & Leeds.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2002, Baron & Leeds operates two Rolex boutiques, one at South Coast Plaza in California and the other at International Market Place in Honolulu, and two eponymous stores on Maui, one at Whalers Village in Lahaina and the other at The Shops at Wailea.
The Baron & Leeds stores carry Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe and Chanel watches as well as jewelry from Marco Bicego, Mikimoto, Lisa Nik, Como Italia and GIA-graded diamonds. The stores also sell pre-owned watches.
The company said that it is yet to be determined if the two Maui stores will continue to operate as Baron & Leeds or will become Bucherer or Tourneau stores. It did note it would be retaining Baron & Leeds employees though the sellers, Terry Weiner and David Baron, will be leaving to “pursue other interests.”
Tourneau CEO Ira Melnitsky said the acquisition of Baron & Leeds represents “an important step forward in the continued growth of Tourneau.”
“We are proud to be able to expand our customer relationships in both California and Hawaii. Baron & Leeds has always shared our passion for exceptional products and unparalleled customer service. and we are excited to welcome all of their employees to our team,” he said.
Bucherer bought Tourneau in February from Green Equity Investors IV LP, an investor group that included members of the Wexler family, which owned Tourneau for decades.
Based in Lucerne, Switzerland, Bucherer is a family-owned company that has more than 30 watch and jewelry stores in Europe and is the manufacturer of Carl F. Bucherer watches.
The purchase of Tourneau effectively doubled its retail footprint. Tourneau now has a total of 24 stores in the United States, after opting not to renew the leases on two stores earlier this year.
Editor's note: This story was updated post-publication to include information about the two gentlemen who sold Baron & Leeds.
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