For quite some time now, the Chinese market has been the holy grail of luxury brands, and now that the country’s draconic COVID-19 rules have been lifted after three years, this specific segment is expected to boom once again. As one of the planet’s leading watch brands, IWC Schaffhausen already had a presence in a string of the country’s first-tier cities, and obviously, its economic powerhouse and undisputed lifestyle hub Shanghai is included. Historically a window to the outside world, this sprawling metropolis is already home to six IWC Schaffhausen standalone boutiques and shop-in-shops, but given its stature, the Swiss luxury brand decided to up the ante by opening a global flagship store here.

Following similar openings in Zurich and Dubai, IWC Schaffhausen‘s third global flagship has recently opened its doors at HKRI Taikoo Hui, a high-end residential complex and shopping centre in the bustling Jing’an area of town. Occupying a lofty 300 sqm. (3,229 sq.ft.) ground floor unit, the retail space comes with its very own entrance and features an interior design by the company’s in-house design team. The branding effort is a bold one, given the large three-dimensional façade which boasts an oversized Pilot’s Watch Chronograph TOP GUN Edition Lake Tahoe. Inside, shoppers explore distinctively themed settings while discovering the watch brand’s Pilot’s Watches, Portugieser and Portofino collections.

The presence of IWC Schaffhausen’s partner Airspeeder, the planet’s first racing series for electric flying cars, quite literally adds a dynamic and interactive element to the premises as shoppers can take a seat in the cockpit of a speeder racing drone and enjoy a Mixed Reality flight through landscapes inspired by IWC Schaffhausen’s Colours of TOP GUN Lake Tahoe, Woodland, Mojave Desert and Ceratanium. And that’s not all. Further anchoring its stature as a luxury lifestyle brand, while also raising the shopping experience, the boutique also comes with a place, aptly named Big Pilot Bar, where to sit back and sip a cocktail or two in between power shopping sprees.