The encyclopedia · Sales & Retail · Strategic decision · 1952–2024
Kowloon Watch sold Tudor and Omega in Kwun Tong for 50 years — then the smartwatch came
Founded 1952 in Sham Shui Po. Peaked around 2010 selling Tudor, Longines and Omega. By March 2024, two branches left. The Kwun Tong shop closed on the 25th.
Kowloon Watch · 2024-03-25
What happened
Kowloon Watch (九龍表行) opened in Sham Shui Po in 1952 and became a fixture of Hong Kong's neighbourhood watch trade. Its Kwun Tong branch was rooted in the district for over half a century. During its peak — around 2010 and the following four to five years — the store sold Tudor, Longines and Omega, and business was strong.
The decline came from two directions. Smartwatches eroded the market for ordinary fashion watches, while the luxury end polarised: expensive watches were still sought by investors, but mid-range timepieces sold poorly. About five years before closure, the Kwun Tong branch moved from a larger shop to one of just over 300 square feet. Dozens of other Hong Kong watch shops closed in the same period.
On 16 March 2024, the store announced it would close. Signs read 'honourable closure, big clearance sale — half price, 30% off'. Locals and watch lovers came to buy and say goodbye. Master Choi, the repair technician, had worked there for 19 years. Manager Ms Kong had spent 15 years at the store. The Kwun Tong branch closed on 25 March 2024, leaving only two branches struggling to survive.
Why it happened
- The store's core product — mid-range mechanical watches — was squeezed between smartwatches at the bottom and investment-grade luxury at the top, leaving no defensible middle
- The business model depended on foot traffic from a neighbourhood that was itself changing, with Kwun Tong's industrial character giving way to redevelopment
- No online or direct-to-consumer channel was developed to supplement the single-store model
- The brand relationships (Tudor, Longines, Omega) were with the brands' own retail networks, which increasingly bypassed independent dealers
The lesson
A neighbourhood watch shop survives on the middle of the market — when smartwatches take the bottom and brand boutiques take the top, the independent dealer's reason to exist disappears.
Aftermath
The closure was part of a wave: dozens of Hong Kong watch shops closed in recent years as the traditional watch retail model was restructured. The Wen Wei Po report noted that a repair technician with 19 years of service and a manager with 15 years were both made redundant. The remaining two branches were described as struggling to survive.
Sources
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