Longines Boutique in SOGO Tian-Mu Department Store, Grand Opening (Taipei, Taiwan)
April 8, 2009
With a history that goes back more than 175 years, the Swiss watch brand Longines has opened its third franchised boutique in Taiwan at Sogo Tian-Mu Store in Taipei. The new boutique was inaugurated on 4 August with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting that attracted the attention of the media and created exposure for the new store. The ceremony was attended by many distinguished guests, including Juan-Carlos Capelli, Longines’ Head of International Marketing, Veronique Beuchat, Advertising Manager, Chi Ling Lin, Longines’ ambassador of elegance, Tsung-Hua Yang, Longines’ new ambassador of elegance of the world of sport and 2008 Junior Tennis World Champion, Erica Chang, Vice-President of Longines Taiwan and senior managers from SOGO Department Store.
The elegant Longines boutique located in the central area of the ground floor of the store reflects Longines’ elegant image and contemporary design. The product display counters and the prestigious VIP area are guaranteed to give the customer a pleasant shopping experience. The full collections of the brand’s watches and boutique items are displayed in the showcases and illustrate the creative genius and spirit of Longines.
Once the shop was bustling with media and enthusiastic potential customers, the hostess announced the start of the opening ceremony by introducing the guests of honour, followed by short welcoming speeches delivered by Mr. Capelli and Ms. Chang, Vice-President of Longines Taiwan.
Tsung-Hua Yang, Longines’ new ambassador for the world of sport, was formally announced as the pride of Taiwan. The contract-signing ceremony was conducted by Juan-Carlos Capelli and Tsung-Hua Yang. A Longines Master Moon Phases watch was presented to Tsung-Hua Yang by Juan-Carlos Capelli and Erica Chang after the contract had been signed.
Then Longines Ambassador Chi Ling Lin appeared wearing a La Grande Classique de Longines watch and a Longines DolceVita model and drew everybody’s attention with her timeless elegance.
After the product presentation, Chi Ling welcomed Tsung-Hua Yang to the family of Longines ambassadors of elegance. This was the highlight of the event and the numerous pictures taken by the media have been used in a great number of articles in the printed media as well as on television.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony followed. The guests invited to cut the ribbon included Shuin-Lung Lee, President of Jing Kuang Tang, Phill Hwang, Country Manager of Swatch Group Taiwan, Inoue Tetsu, Vice-President of SOGO department store, Mr. Capelli, Erica, Chi Ling, and Tsung-Hua.
Hsiao Yun and Shao-yu, the leading budding stars of Longines “Fly with Dream" presented bouquets of flowers to Chi Ling and Tsung-Hua, their idols. It was a moment of genuine affection and emotion that will hopefully motivate the young tennis players to reach great heights.
The award ceremony for the first prize in the Longines French Open on-line campaign also surprised the audience. Ben Huang, a fan of Longines for more than 30 years, was the lucky winner. He won the prestige package including tickets for a flight to Paris for 2 people, 2 nights accommodation in a 4-star hotel and a VIP invitation to the French Open in 2010. Ben Huang thanked Mr. Capelli warmly for his prize.
To welcome Tsung-Hua Yang to the Longines family, Chi Ling not only gave him a warm hug, but also a guided tour through the boutique when he presented the Longines 2+1 product concept and Longines collections to all the media and customers.
The popularity of these two Longines ambassadors can be largely explained by the fact that they are a perfect reflection of the Longines slogan “Elegance is an attitude”.