After celebrating 180 years of trading in 2020, Laings is now looking ahead to build on its legacy with extensive expansion plans set to be unveiled, aimed at enhancing the client experience across its locations.

Through six generations of family ownership, Laings has grown to become a leading independent luxury jeweller, with six showrooms across four locations – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Southampton and Cardiff.

Now, expanding its retail strategy, the jewellers has announced it will be investing £10 million into the company over the next two years. The investment will see Laings transform its showrooms and workshops, reimagining the customer experience while ensuring traditional jewellers’ crafts are kept alive for generations to come.

The first in a series of transformations will be unveiled this Autumn with work already underway to treble the size of Laings’ St David’s Centre Cardiff showroom, allowing the company to introduce Swiss watch brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe to its Welsh clientele. An investment which demonstrates the trust Laings holds with luxury horology’s most prominent brands, who have existing relationships with Laings having worked together for years in other cities.

Stuart McDowell, retail director at Laings, said: “The expansion in Cardiff is in response to our client’s enquiries – catering to the watch collectors of Wales who might not have Laings at the forefront of their minds now, but hopefully they soon will. The showroom is right in the heart of the capital city and our expanded presence means we can give the brands we represent the stage to shine. No longer will Cardiff clients need to travel outside their home city to access these brands, they can enjoy having them on their doorstep – with Laings.”

Laings’ workshops in Scotland will also see significant investment, marking the beginning of a new client experience. For the first time in the company’s history, clients will be invited to join the watchmakers and goldsmiths behind the benches to see their skills in action when completing services, drawing back the curtain on the artisan crafts and allowing the team to take centre stage.

Upon opening, the workshops will play host to client immersion sessions, luxury events and meet the makers demonstrations to showcase expertise, allowing clients to see the intricacies of every service first-hand.

Laings also hopes that breathing new life into the workshops will attract visibility to the industry and inspire a new generation of talent to train in the field. With a recruitment plan spanning all areas of the business, Laings aims to grow its team by up to 25%, providing opportunities for both apprentices and existing watchmakers and goldsmiths in locations where there have traditionally been less positions available, safeguarding these artisan skills for the future.

Joe Walsh, Laings CEO, added: “The workshops create a special experience for our customers. Not only will they be able to talk to the watchmakers and see them working, they’ll also be able to attend events where they can gain a deeper insight into the craft – taking watches apart, seeing how the mechanics work and putting them back together. People are looking for experiences now and that’s what we want – to deliver a new form of retail that captures the imagination of our clients.”