This Manchester club house is shaking up the luxury watch market

Times

a day ago

Want to buy a luxury watch, like a Rolex, Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet? You just walk into a shop and buy one, don't you? Actually, no. Not only are brands such as these producing models in such limited numbers that they inevitably struggle to keep up with demand, but Audemars Piguet has now made the decision to move away from the conventional store-based retail model.
Enter an alternative: AP House, which is a private members' club-style hybrid — think luxurious interiors, chillout zones, hospitality that would rival any five-star hotel and a gentle, softly-softly selling approach. What's more, everyone's invited.
It's a concept that the Swiss watchmaker rolled out in 2017 and now it has AP Houses around the world including in places as far-flung as St Barts, Seoul and Mexico City. London has one, although you may not know it, elevated as it is on the first floor above an unrelated store on New Bond Street.
Now it's Manchester's turn. Hot on the heels of the city's cultural resurgence — it hosted the Chanel Métiers d'Art show in December 2023, and its own Soho House is opening in a few months — AP has settled on this northern metropolis to open the 23rd house in its roster. It is, of course, an area that attracts significant wealth (footballers being the obvious trope) and you'll need Premier League-level deep pockets to buy an AP — its most iconic model, the Royal Oak, has a starting price point of £22,700 and can easily soar into a six-figure sum.
'We've been looking for a suitable location for our clients outside London for a while,' says Daniel Compton, the brand's UK general manager. 'People tend to gravitate to Manchester when they're doing their luxury shopping — already we've had visitors from as far north as Glasgow [the House soft launched in May], while nearby we have Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds and the Cheshire belt below us.'
The House is exactly that — a double-fronted Georgian residence on King Street that dates from 1736. AP found the site in 2022 and instructed Johnson Pinney Architects to extensively remodel the 425 sq m interior while preserving its grand grade II listed exterior, structure and period features.
As with all AP Houses, touches of the home city run through the design scheme. On entering the reception area an art installation by the artist Michelle McKinney echoes the leaves of the black poplar tree, aka the Manchester poplar, common in the city thanks to its ability to tolerate air pollution. The Manchester bee, a symbol of the city's industriousness since 1842, is alluded to in the honeycomb shape of the watch display cases, while fabric lines the walls in reference to its history of cotton production.
On the first floor a music room pays homage to Manchester's music scene with artwork from Factory Records (the city's pioneering record label and founder of the Haçienda nightclub), a display of vinyl on the wall and turntables should any guest fancy a spin behind the decks. Across the landing is a dining room and bar serving, by the end of the year, AP's own draught beer made in collaboration with a local independent brewery, in a nod to northern pub culture. Up another flight of stairs to a games room and visitors will find a luxury version of shove ha'penny and a darts board. A roof terrace leads off it with views across the city's industrial-era red-brick buildings.
But why bother with all of this? Surely a bricks-and-mortar conventional retail model would suffice. The luxury commentator and watch expert Ming Liu explains the rationale behind it. 'By having Houses around the globe, AP are able to provide a holistic 360 approach to their customers. They may be a watch brand but the product is only one side of it. They're also very aware that their customer travels and that they have different touch points in their lives — whether Manchester, Hong Kong or London. It makes sense to have somewhere they feel comfortable and can connect with other watch lovers, bring their friends, socialise and relax. The concept is about making clients feel at home, spending longer with them and educating them on watchmaking and AP in particular.'
But is everyone invited, really? It sounds like a concept too good to be true. 'We welcome all, we encourage walk-ins,' Compton says, 'and we want newcomers.' As for the current AP clients — those who Compton describes as 'part of the AP family and a mix of old industrial families from the northwest and those who've made their success more recently, including from the media and sport' — they can expect an enhanced level of hospitality.
Meanwhile in London plans are afoot for a new, bigger version of the House and an AP branded hoarding has been spotted outside a townhouse in Mayfair. Compton won't be drawn on exact timeframes, but it won't be long before the capital has a similar venue to rival that of Manchester. Watch this space.
AP House Manchester, 35 King Street, M2 7AT, audemarspiguet.com
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