HUBLOT IN MILAN: a new challenge
Andrea Casalegno is one of the youngest and most effective popularisers in the industry. Volcanic and enterprising, with his IamCasa format he talks about watchmaking in a dynamic and direct way. We welcomed him in our new Hublot boutique in Via Verri: these are his impressions.
That of understanding and interpreting the taste of a city is an arduous task required of any good salesperson who wants to make that metropolis their own square. The scenario becomes even more difficult if, instead of understanding, the ability to anticipate tastes and trends is required.
Passing through Via Pietro Verri in Milan, there are many trendsetters, from all sectors, but one stands out more than others, as of this year, for watch lovers: it is Hublot, with a boutique that fully reflects the spirit and stylistic traits of the brand.
Hublot, as you may know, was founded by Carlo Crocco just before 1980, grew up with Biver and crowned his dream of being a Big Brand with LVMH and Ricardo Guadalupe, who was able to lead the brand to modern-day success, often working against the tide.
That’s right: Hublot, in recent history, is certainly among the most divisive brands on the web, capable like few of polarising opinions. You either love it or you hate it. On the other hand, half-measures are not in Hublot’s DNA and it is perhaps this decisive character, fuelled by marketing that is far from the standards to which watchmaking is accustomed, that has determined its fortunes. Today, a few years after the first fierce controversy, we are faced with a brand with all the credentials to establish itself as a must-have in the near future.
Pisa understood this well and decided to make the brand stand out among its many Milanese shop windows, giving Hublot not a corner, not a shop window, but an entire boutique. Adjacent to the Flagship Store, the three-storey temple of Milanese watchmaking, a small, pretty boutique, all crystals and shiny black, dedicated entirely to Hublot, has been on display since January.
This is an effective way for Pisa to showcase the brand’s selection of watches to anyone, with dedicated staff (ergo prepared on Hublot matters), but above all with a more intimate and private second floor, divided into a comfortable lounge for more discreet negotiations or simply to sit back and chat in peace. This boutique, as it stands, has two aces up its sleeve, which Pisa has made the most of. The first, undoubtedly, is the choice of a brand like Hublot, which is becoming increasingly popular with the Milanese public, especially when it comes to Classic Fusion, both for its design, which has now become one of the iconic watches, and for the portability of its smaller diameter cases, which hug the wrist well, are versatile and discreet. The second ace up the sleeve is the location: the boutique is in fact communicating with the Flagship Store of Pisa Orologeria, a shrewdness that makes it easier for customers to transit between the multi-brand space and the Hublot world, and vice versa. This is an essential aspect of the shopping experience in Pisa, all the boutiques live in a kind of osmosis that far from putting them in competition, creates virtuous synergies to the benefit of both customers and the brands presented.
To posterity the harsh judgement: will Hublot be the next Milanese watch? When in doubt, Pisa Orologeria has gone ahead!
