SEIKO WAKO Ginza Flagship Store Renewal Event

KIH · 2011-06-29T07:14:17Z

Explore the 2011 renewal of SEIKO's flagship WAKO store in Ginza, Tokyo. KIH's report features an exclusive interview with the CEO and a deep dive into Grand Seiko and Credor displays, revealing Seiko's luxury strategy.

KIH

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

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KIH provides an exclusive look into the 2011 renewal opening of the SEIKO Flagship Store at WAKO in Tokyo's Ginza district. This report offers a rare glimpse into how Seiko Holdings revitalized its high-end retail presence, transforming WAKO into a dedicated showcase for Grand Seiko and Credor. KIH's detailed account and interview with the CEO illuminate Seiko's strategic vision for its luxury brands.

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Hello all,

Thanks to my location (and that must be the only reason), I was invited to the preview of the renewal open of the WAKO specialty retail store - a SEIKO Holdings company - for the press. Sorry for so many photos. Interview is in the last part, so please read on!

1. WAKO
Let me introduce WAKO first, for most of you may not know the relationship between SEIKO and WAKO. WAKO has been a high-end specialty retail store 100% owned by SEIKO Holdings from its beginning. I honestly had never even thought of entering except for the watch floor which used to be located on the B1F. At least I had been thinking that WAKO were very popular among young-adult or more mature higher society women and there would not be much for a poor layman guy like myself when I was younger. I did not even know that there were men's floor. Anyway, WAKO has established its high-end brand position among the luxury hungry consumers, and is located in Ginza on the best intersection/ crossing in Japan's commercial space. BUT, admittedly SEIKO had not been utilizing such a great distribution arm well enough until now, thus they decided to open Sundays and to shuffle the floor plan and to make it more like the SEIKO flagship store with SEIKO salon on the lobby floor when you enter the store. The current store was built in 1930s.

Famous "Ginza 4 Chome (or 4th)" Intersection

They added the logo of SEIKO as a part of renovation/ renewal

2. SEIKO Salon on the lobby floor

Grand Seiko and Credor Corner

As a high-end watch AD, this is by far the largest one I have ever seen.

Credor line

2011 Novelty Minute Repeater (see my review, if interested)

Credor Sonnerie

The LE of only ONE each (read another report of mine if interested). The dial is the engraved black MOP.

2 4 7=24/7

Grand Seiko Line

130th Anniversary models - YG has been long sold out. There are still "some" SS available, I heard. You'd better hurry.

The bottom is the latest Master Shop model Hi-Beat

Grand Seiko Chronos

A bit lower-end line corner.

There was the demonstration of Hi-Beat movement dissembling/assembling by Hiraga-san (master watchmaker responsible for Grand Seiko mechanical watches at Shizukuishi Watch Studio), who I met and showed me demonstration as well in February.

Welcome Speech by Mr. Hattori, CEO.

"Looking back the 130 years of history of SEIKO, we have been always running ahead and invented, created the 'world's first' in various fields. Therefore, we decided to renew/renovate this WAKO to make it from the 'world's high end brands specialty store' to 'SEIKO's showcase of its innovation'. SEIKO's main products are watch, clock and the lenses and frames of the eye glasses. SEIKO now has about 30 so-called flagship stores around the world, particularly in Europe, Middle East, and Asia, but this WAKO SEIKO Salon is the first one owned by SEIKO. We have also expanded the clock corner on the Basement 1 floor, by SEIKO and WAKO brand as well. On the 2nd floor, we have eye glasses corner. We have been making lenses for the eye glasses for 90 years. SEIKO invented the plastic lens first in the world. So, we have SEIKO's most advanced products here at WAKO. Let me share with you one interesting episode that I heard when I went to China. I heard someone being very proud to others that he bought his Grand SEIKO at WAKO, not at the ordinary AD. I was surprised to find that the brand WAKO is more popular than I had thought. I would also like to make this place globally popular, too. Thank you for coming this evening and please look around and let us know what you think"

WAKO also carries a LOT of other brands. There are so many brands and please bear with the number of the photos. Interview with the CEO follows.

Ralph Lauren

ALS

Piaget

Breguet

Parmigiani

JLC

Rolex

Omega

de Grisogono

Longines

Franck Muller

Independent - Hajime Asaoka

3. Clock corner on the B1F

SEIKO makes lots of wonderful clocks, too. After all, SEIKOSHA was a clock manufacturing company in its early days. So impressive that I took lots of photos - pardon me!

This is actually Quartz (+/- 15 sec per month)

This, too.

This is mechanical, called "Wabi (one of the hardest words to translate - dictionary says "tasteful simplicity") "

The balance wheel on top.

The back side has wood pattern motif.

The accuracy is less than 2 seconds a day (could be more accurate than the quartz models above)

Called "Samurai (one of the easiest words to translate

From the back

Again, the accuracy is less than 2 seconds per day. Both models are MSRP at around 30K.

Now, this is called "Yukyu (forever)". Uses the same principle as the one made and used 900 years ago except that the timing of the ball rolling is done by quartz, while it was by the water flow 900 years ago. This is really fun to watch.

DECOR is the name of SEIKO's high-end clock line.

SEIKO clocks are really the household name for Japanese

These are still in production and sold today.

4. Bridal, ladies' bag, and glasses corner on the second floor

Now, these I didn't know. They do Bridal ring/ jewelry thing, lady's bag (men's are on the different floor, I heard) under WAKO brand. And I was very surprised at the eye glasses and lenses. As Mr. Hattori mentioned in his speech, SEIKO is the first manufacturer to invent the plastic lens for your eye glasses. Wow....

Reasonably priced for the quality in comparison to "other" high-end brands out there. Makes very nice souvenir?

SEIKO brand eye glasses....

Look! SEIKO brand titanium frame!

5. Interview with Mr. Shinji Hattori, CEO of SEIKO Holdings

KIH: Thank you for inviting me and making time to interview today. First of all, there are lots of SEIKO fans in the world, perhaps much more than you can imagine. I see many posts about SEIKO, modern or vintage, and there are some fanatic, almost stalker-like fans. Sometimes people complain a little for not being able to get one. We are all glad that you are going to make Grand SEIKO available globally, but would you please elaborate about the speed and scope of the "expansion" of Grand SEIKO distribution?

Mr. Shinji Hattori ("SH"): Right now, our top priority is Asia, as with other European brands. But we already have five ADs in the USA who carry Grand SEIKO now and will have the sixth by the end of the year. Grand SEIKO is not the first brand we have sold globally - the first one was Ananta. And we may have to wait for a few years to start doing that for Credor. First, Grand SEIKO, and then, Credor. That is the plan.

KIH: I understand that this place has become the SEIKO Salon and I am honestly impressed when I entered the lobby because this is the vast "boutique" for SEIKO. But there are still other big European brands in one corner. Do you intend to carry those brands as well?

SH: Well, this is the SEIKO Salon indeed, but it is not easy to occupy this big building with only SEIKO products, to be honest. And another reason is that I want this Salon to be the place where watch lovers like you gather and compare with SEIKO side by side. That is why we carry very major brands as well.

KIH: There are two high-end lines of SEIKO - Grand SEIKO and Credor. I understand that Credor is more luxurious or jewelry-ish while Grand SEIKO pursues the ultimate "practical" watch. But it doesn't seem easy for the world PuristS to really understand the difference more clearly. Will you again tell us what is the line dividing these two lines?

SH: You said well. Grand SEIKO is aiming to be the most practical watch in the world while Credor is aiming to be the best dress watch in the world. That means, we never put jewelry stones on Grand SEIKO while there are many Credor that have stones on the case or on the dial.

KIH: Let me ask you about your strategy for the hi-beat watches. You have again entered the hi-beat world with new material and new technology a few years ago. And right now there are a few or several brands who are trying to make hi-beat or higher-beat watches with new materials, such as silicon. How would you respond to those challenges?

SH: We don't think that we go with the "hi-beat competition". We believe that we already have our line-up for the challenge. For example, we have Spring Drive chronographs, which have practically good enough accuracy and durability.

KIH: Lastly, would you please make comments on the earthquake impact?

SH: Well, thank you for asking. As you and many of the PuristS may know, we have a very important factory in Tohoku region where the quake hit. Fortunately, the factory itself is located much inland and it was not touched by the tsunami. No one at the factory was hurt. Equipment were a little damaged, but not much. But due to the power failure/ shortage and other factors, very small number of the models have suffered production delay, up to two months at most. In retrospect, we were extremely fortunate and I can't complain. I appreciate all the messages worrying about us we received from all over the world. I am sure some of them were from the members of PuristS and I thank you very much.

KIH: Thank you very much for your time, Mr. Hattori.

SH: Thank you for posting interesting articles about us on PuristS. Now I remember some examples that SEIKO is quite popular in the USA. Let me share one with you. I love music and I play myself. One day, in US, I invited Mr. James Burton, formerly the lead guitar of the back band for Elvis Presley to my house there. He came and asked me to repair his 40 years old SEIKO watch. It seems that SEIKO was/is pretty popular among those old-timers. Thank you again and please ask me or any of the staff if you have any questions.

KIH: Thank you again.

Mr. Hattori answering questions from editor-in-chiefs of the lady's magazines

It was an interesting evening and the new WAKO is well worth visiting when you come to Ginza, Tokyo. You will be certainly surprised by the vast area of the SEIKO Watch Salon, as well as other fields they have been good at (Clocks and Glasses), and other high-end specialty store style variety of the products displayed.

- The official re-opening of WAKO to the public, the following morning (Photos courtesy of SEIKO).

Thank you for reading.

My sincere thanks go to:
Mr. Hattori , CEO
Mr. Takahashi, Executive Officer, PR
Mr. Matsumoto, General Manager, PR
Mr. Hara, Section Head, PR
Ms. Naruse, PR

Ken
This message has been edited by KIH on 2011-06-29 08:17:51 This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2011-06-29 14:07:37 This message has been edited by KIH on 2011-06-29 16:19:12 This message has been edited by MTF on 2011-07-01 22:23:38

Key Points from the Discussion

The WAKO building and its iconic clock tower have a rich history, with the recent renovation adding the SEIKO logo to signify its renewed role as a flagship store. The Ginza 4-chome intersection has become a 'SEIKO village' with various Seiko-related presences.
The Grand Seiko presentation at WAKO is a significant draw, especially for collectors in regions like Europe where these models are difficult to access. The 130th Anniversary Grand Seiko models, particularly the stainless steel version, were highly sought after.
The CEO of Seiko Holdings is aware of the WatchProSite community and its discussions, indicating that reports posted on the forum are brought to his attention. However, he is expected to remain a silent reader rather than directly participate.
Seiko maintains a distinct brand philosophy, seemingly uninterested in following trends set by other brands like TAG Heuer. This commitment to their own path contributes to the diversity and interest within the horology scene.
The WAKO boutique in Ginza is noted for its impressive presentation and extensive selection of high-end watches, including Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, alongside Seiko's luxury lines.
The event featured a demonstration of Hi-Beat movement disassembly and assembly by master watchmaker Hiraga-san, highlighting the intricate craftsmanship behind Grand Seiko mechanical watches.

The Discussion

mell0822

Jun 29, 2011

Impressed by the size of the store.

anaesdoc

Jun 29, 2011

Thanks for this amply illustrated report, KIH! The affluence of luxury watches is overwhelming, but I would particularly like to see the Grand Seiko presentation as it is very difficult to see them over here in Europe. The anniversary GS models are great and I thought about the SS version for a moment (lovely size and classic lines), but finally 5.5 k€ seemed me too expensive. It´s a pity Japan is so far away, sigh. Kind regards, anaesdoc

mark_third

Jun 29, 2011

Seiko has opened a beautiful store here that is for sure !

MTF

Jun 29, 2011

Thank you, Ken and Hattori-san for the Interview. Here are some pictures of Wako visit from many years ago. Also some Seiko group products that bring PuristS joy from my stay in Japan. The original posting of 'Lazing for 2 hours in Tokyo': http://www.tp178.com/mtf/lazing_grazing/l_2hours_tokyo.htm Wako, Ginza-4-chome Wako clock tower before Seiko branding Salaryman's Dream Birthday present to myself 2004: #8 of Limited Edition Titanium Chronograph Regards, MTF This message has been edited by MTF

Tony A.H

Jun 29, 2011

where i like to Spend Time in :0)) WOW . that's one Mega Boutique !.. Great Report. i enjoyed reading through it hope one day to Buy an ANANTA. thanks for sharing. Tony

cazalea

Jun 29, 2011

Hey! I resemble that remark! And I know I am not the only one. I guess I'll have to get myself over to one of the new US Grand Seiko stores. Thanks so much for your report, Ken. I'm surprised that he had the knowledge of the PuristS - soon will he be posting here like Mr. Biver? Mike This message has been edited by cazalea on 2011-06-29 11:23:37

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