Watchmaster buys MMC

The German start-up for used watches is taking over a French competitor. It is a step towards the offline world.

Watchmaster, founded in 2015, is taking over its French competitor Montres Modernes et de Collection (MMC) for an initially undisclosed price. The companies announced this on Monday.

Both companies sell so-called "Certified Pre-Owned timepieces" (CPO), i.e. particularly expensive luxury watches with the necessary certificates. The difference, however, is that the French have mainly sold them in analog form to date, while the German start-up has mostly sold them online. The takeover is set to change this; Watchmaster wants to benefit from MMC's retail experience and open more stores in the future. In the meantime, it has already taken steps in this direction and opened a showroom in London.

Watchmaster investor Olma, a private equity fund specializing in luxury goods, is believed to have arranged the deal. "We not only believe in the combination of online and offline, but also in the cooperation of young companies with established family businesses," Tim-Hendrik Meyer, CEO of Watchmaster, told Handelsblatt.