Some time back I reported on the "soft" opening of the new Gérald
Genta boutique at Shanghai's upscale Plaza 66 shopping centre.

 
credit: zOrg at skyscrapercity.com

If ever there were an HH watch company reaching out to embrace the
full potential of China as an emerging luxury market of signal
importance, it would have to be GG. Shanghai is Genta's third
boutique, and the first to open outside Europe. (The other two, in
Geneva and Paris, were only launched late last year.) Chief Executive
Officer Gérald Roden says that GG will eventually roll out over a
dozen of these boutiques worldwide - a now-familiar strategy to
verticalise distribution and regain control of pricing, in order to
minimise discounting and grey-market leakage.

A couple of Thursdays ago - May 15th to be precise - the Shanghai GG
boutique staged its official Gala Opening event and party. To
celebrate this, the entire ground-floor concourse at Plaza 66 was
given over to an exhibition of important watches from GG's own
historic collection. The visual centrepiece of this display was a
magnificent old automobile -

Quirky signage led us down the escalators to the basement Watch and
Jewellery Concourse, where the Gérald Genta boutique nestles amongst
an impressive clutch of other glamorous brands -

Celebrities were of course on hand to add an extra touch of star
power to the proceedings...

Pop singer Liu Yan, Miss Shanghai Cao Yiwen, actor Lo Dahua -

Popular veejay, Dan Dan -

Popular veejay, Wang Guan -

Lo Dahua is swamped by reporters and paparazzi -

Taking centre stage was the Lollipop Man himself...brand CEO
extraordinaire...the urbane and inimitable Gérald Roden -

Lining up with scissors for the symbolic cutting of the ribbon, from
left to right: Mario Emprin Gilardini (COO, Bvlgari Group), Mr Gérald
Roden, Ms Wong Weiling (Asia Manager, Bvlgari Group), Mr Lu Xiaodong
(Deputy Governor, Shanghai Jing'An District), and Mr Roy Ho (Managing
Director, Plaza 66) -

Failure was definitely NOT an option -

After which, a huge rush for the watches -

"You're kidding - it chimes like Big Ben?"

"Oh yeah - so it does..."

"If I keep smiling like this, maybe they'll just give me the watch..."

"Damn...I was this far from clinching the deal..."

"Of course, my favourites are the ones with diamonds."

Boutique manager Calvin Tao checks the form guide with help from
C2HH's David Chang -

What's that? Y'all want to see some watches? Oh, alright, if you must -

Meanwhile, preparations were under way for the real party, to be held
the same evening in a marquee on the Plaza 66 forecourt -

For a report on the spectacular Shanghai Boutique Opening Party (and
more amazing GG watches), proceed to Part 2 ...==> CLICK HERE  <==