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The luxury store where customers spend $15,000 a visit

The luxury store where customers spend $15,000 a visit

Opulent stores filled with cashmere suits, silk scarves and soft leather handbags are making room for the hard stuff on Australia's most prestigious shopping strips.
Watches costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, made from gold, titanium, diamonds and stainless steel are filling temples to timepieces opening across the country.
This week, the Franck Muller boutique on Sydney's Castlereagh Street opens its heavy doors, opposite Chanel's new fine jewellery and watches flagship in Sydney.
Japanese brand Grand Seiko officially opened in Melbourne's historic Block Arcade last month, Vacheron Constantin reopened on Collins Street in March, and Rolex's largest boutique in the Southern Hemisphere started trading in December at Chadstone Shopping Centre.
'Australia is increasingly appealing to international watch brands due to its stable retail infrastructure and its growing base of affluent and brand-savvy consumers,' says Nicholas Rudaz, Franck Muller's chief executive. 'Cities like Sydney and Melbourne have truly matured into key luxury hubs.
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'The average spend of our customers in Australia is currently around $15,000.'
The brand's $352,400 Gravity Skeleton Tourbillon, in a rose-gold case studded with diamonds, should help push the average customer spend higher.
Australian expansion is taking place as the international luxury watch market recalibrates. The Swatch Group, whose brands include Omega and Tissot, this week reported an 11.2 per cent drop in sales for the first half of the year. Piaget and IWC Schaffhausen's parent company Richemont reported a 7 per cent decrease in sales for the first quarter ending June 2025.
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Tax big businesses that don't invest in new technology, science body argues
Tax big businesses that don't invest in new technology, science body argues

ABC News

time22 minutes ago

  • ABC News

Tax big businesses that don't invest in new technology, science body argues

Billions of dollars in incentives to get Australian businesses to invest in innovation have not shifted a low level of research and development (R&D). Having tried a carrot, one of the nation's top scientific bodies wants to try the stick: whacking big business with a levy if they don't invest a minimum amount in R&D. 'Research and development underinvestment by both government and business had been long term and is now intolerable," said Anna-Maria Arabia, chief executive at the Australian Academy of Science. As the government searches for ideas to boost the nation's flagging productivity and economic growth, the Australian Academy of Science is calling for a rebatable levy on businesses with annual revenue of more than $100 million. The idea is to force them to spend up on R&D — say 0.25 per cent or 0.5 per cent of their revenue — or cop a levy equal to that, with the money invested by the government in innovation. The academy is arguing that a massive boost in research and development is needed to boost productivity. "It's not just me saying it, it's the Treasury, it's the Productivity Commission," said Ms Arabia, who blasted the complacency of Australian businesses. And it is not just them either. The Lowy Institute's Jenny Gordon was chief economist at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and supports the push to fund R&D more effectively. "I don't know whether I'd call it a stick, I mean, you could also call it an incentive scheme," she said. "This is an alternative way to say, 'Well, we need to raise funding, reliable funding for R&D'. So that is not at the whim of government and whatever the budget decides to allocate. Australia spends vastly less than similar nations on R&D. In 2023, the Productivity Commission wrote that Australian businesses were not "keeping pace" with innovation. Prior to the pandemic, the Harvard Growth Lab Atlas of Economic Complexity ranked Australia 93rd in terms of the complexity of its economy. At the time that was lagging Kazakhstan, Uganda and Senegal, and only just ahead of Pakistan and Mali. The academy, an organisation representing Australia's top research scientists, argues sustained underinvestment by the business sector means there is now a gap of $32.5 billion when compared with the OCED average (we spend 0.89 per cent of GDP, less than half the OECD average of 1.99 per cent). It is proposing the levy to push business to go harder on innovation: to secure the future of Australian business. "Our back is up against a wall now," Ms Arabia said. Professor Roy Green knows about the benefits of innovation, as a special innovation advisor at the University of Technology Sydney and on the board of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). He believes Australian business has been coasting on the research done by tertiary institutions and government. What that means now, he says, is that we "have very poor productivity performance that the government is now trying to address … largely because of our failing research and development support system". The amount spent on R&D has fallen in all sectors: universities, public institutions and private businesses. "Public R&D barely makes a dent," Professor Green said. "And that's combined with a massive fall in business expenditure in R&D. The only institutions that are holding it up are universities, and that's only because of increased funding from overseas students — which we've just cut." Levies to push business to take up beneficial activities — such as the training guarantee in the 1990s — show it can be done, he added. The government's looming Economic Reform Roundtable will bring together business groups, unions, community sector representatives and experts in Canberra next month. Ahead of the event, groups like the academy are making suggestions for changes they would like to see, and submissions on what they see as key issues. The submission from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) was released before the suggestion by the academy to put a levy on business, and so does not include a response to it. What it does do is note how much we lag other nations and make suggestions for how to fix that. "This underperformance is closely tied to broader issues in the business environment, including weak private investment and an outdated tax and regulatory framework that discourages innovation," the ACCI submission noted. ACCI wants to see a long-term policy commitment and a clear strategy from Commonwealth and state governments. Among its recommendations are "refundable tax credits, direct grants, and concessional financing options" for small to medium-sized businesses and "stage-specific, low-interest government loans to support business R&D investment". Earlier this year, another business lobby group, the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), welcomed a government discussion paper on R&D. "We must fundamentally re-imagine Australia's R&D strategy as a dynamic, responsive system that recognises industry isn't just a vehicle for commercialising R&D developed elsewhere," Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said at the time. "To put it simply, the current system is not working in Australia's interests." The group reiterated what the paper suggested, that R&D-intensive businesses demonstrate stronger jobs growth and resilience in uncertain times. "R&D investment is not merely an academic exercise but a crucial driver of national prosperity," Mr Willox said, calling for a radical push to boost the field. "Everything must be on the table. There can be no sacred cows. "Simply calling for R&D spending to reach 3 per cent of GDP [gross domestic product] isn't enough. As a start, we must address fundamental issues around commercialising public sector research and how to strengthen industry-research collaboration." As the roundtable approaches and more big ideas are thrown out, the future structure of R&D could be undergoing development of its own.

Chery wants to Australianise its cars to make them appeal to Americans
Chery wants to Australianise its cars to make them appeal to Americans

The Advertiser

time22 minutes ago

  • The Advertiser

Chery wants to Australianise its cars to make them appeal to Americans

Chery, in its current state, may have only been operating in Australia since 2023, but a global executive says the feedback of Australians could help the brand's cars see success in the United States down the line. Locally, Chery has enjoyed substantial growth in its first few years. To the end of June 2025, the brand had recorded a whopping 228.8 per cent increase in sales from the same period in 2024, the largest of any brand – even the hard-charging BYD. This success has provided Chery with a wealth of feedback and guidance on how to improve its vehicles, with brand chief engineer David Xianqiang Lu telling CarExpert that the lessons learned can also help prepare it for potential future efforts in countries like the US. "From any point of view, the Australian market is very, very important, and that's a reason to come here and try and start in the market," he said. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. ABOVE: Chery Himla "We consider at least two directions right now. One is, in my opinion, that the user here, and the user conditions here, are very close to the USA market. "That's our next target where we want to go, I don't know whether that's the right words or not, but that's our ambition." The US market is uncharted territory for Chinese brands. Efforts to stop Chinese cars from infiltrating its market have led the US Government to impose substantial tariffs on vehicles from the country, which means there are currently no Chinese brands operating in the US, though there are Chinese-owned ones such as Volvo, Polestar and Lotus. A 100 per cent tariff was slugged on Chinese EVs in 2024, followed by reciprocal tariffs imposed on the US by China. Despite that, brands like Chery are planning for the US' stance to soften in the coming years, opening the door for expanded global operations. ABOVE: Chery E5 "I know there are a lot of issues there, but that's a different story. As a company and an engineer, we are looking for the markets where we want to go," Mr Lu told CarExpert. "I believe the Australian market can help us learn a lot about the USA market. We've mentioned about a [pickup], with important towing capacities, which are also very big in USA market, so we can learn a lot." Indeed, Chery has been developing new utes for some time, after earlier efforts like the Karry Higgo and Aika were phased out. It revealed a new ute, the Himla, at this year's Shanghai auto show, and it's understood several others are waiting in the wings – including a yet-to-be-revealed plug-in hybrid (PHEV) expected to come to Australia. ABOVE: The F700 ute, from the Chery-owned Jetour brand. It seems Australia could serve as a test bed for these vehicles, which will undoubtedly vary in size, powertrains, and construction (i.e. body-on-frame or unibody), to prove their worth before being shipped elsewhere. "The other thing is the geographical position, this off-season. For us, in China right now it's summer, very hot, here it's winter," Mr Lu told CarExpert. "Australia also has some mountain area with snow and these kinds of things; we can test a vehicle here. Working together, leveraging global resources, we can further speed up our development process." Any local development undertaken by Chery would follow similar efforts from other Chinese brands, including GWM, which recently hired former Holden handling tuner Rob Trubiani to spearhead local development efforts. Non-Chinese brands like Ford, Kia and Mitsubishi are also heavily involved in Australian vehicle tuning. ABOVE: Chery Tiggo 8 Additionally, Mr Lu outlined feedback received from Australian customers and media was always relayed to Chery's head office in China, which has informed the development of new models and tech, as well as updates for its existing lineup. "Also the user here is different. I remember the first article I saw was from [CarExpert], the gentleman wrote about Chery's vehicle, he mentioned that the vehicle tuning and handling was not that good, suspension not that good," he told CarExpert. "We really take a lot of comments, and try to [improve] that. That's another thing, we really let the local experts help us tune the vehicle, maybe even special versions." MORE: Everything Chery Content originally sourced from: Chery, in its current state, may have only been operating in Australia since 2023, but a global executive says the feedback of Australians could help the brand's cars see success in the United States down the line. Locally, Chery has enjoyed substantial growth in its first few years. To the end of June 2025, the brand had recorded a whopping 228.8 per cent increase in sales from the same period in 2024, the largest of any brand – even the hard-charging BYD. This success has provided Chery with a wealth of feedback and guidance on how to improve its vehicles, with brand chief engineer David Xianqiang Lu telling CarExpert that the lessons learned can also help prepare it for potential future efforts in countries like the US. "From any point of view, the Australian market is very, very important, and that's a reason to come here and try and start in the market," he said. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. ABOVE: Chery Himla "We consider at least two directions right now. One is, in my opinion, that the user here, and the user conditions here, are very close to the USA market. "That's our next target where we want to go, I don't know whether that's the right words or not, but that's our ambition." The US market is uncharted territory for Chinese brands. Efforts to stop Chinese cars from infiltrating its market have led the US Government to impose substantial tariffs on vehicles from the country, which means there are currently no Chinese brands operating in the US, though there are Chinese-owned ones such as Volvo, Polestar and Lotus. A 100 per cent tariff was slugged on Chinese EVs in 2024, followed by reciprocal tariffs imposed on the US by China. Despite that, brands like Chery are planning for the US' stance to soften in the coming years, opening the door for expanded global operations. ABOVE: Chery E5 "I know there are a lot of issues there, but that's a different story. As a company and an engineer, we are looking for the markets where we want to go," Mr Lu told CarExpert. "I believe the Australian market can help us learn a lot about the USA market. We've mentioned about a [pickup], with important towing capacities, which are also very big in USA market, so we can learn a lot." Indeed, Chery has been developing new utes for some time, after earlier efforts like the Karry Higgo and Aika were phased out. It revealed a new ute, the Himla, at this year's Shanghai auto show, and it's understood several others are waiting in the wings – including a yet-to-be-revealed plug-in hybrid (PHEV) expected to come to Australia. ABOVE: The F700 ute, from the Chery-owned Jetour brand. It seems Australia could serve as a test bed for these vehicles, which will undoubtedly vary in size, powertrains, and construction (i.e. body-on-frame or unibody), to prove their worth before being shipped elsewhere. "The other thing is the geographical position, this off-season. For us, in China right now it's summer, very hot, here it's winter," Mr Lu told CarExpert. "Australia also has some mountain area with snow and these kinds of things; we can test a vehicle here. Working together, leveraging global resources, we can further speed up our development process." Any local development undertaken by Chery would follow similar efforts from other Chinese brands, including GWM, which recently hired former Holden handling tuner Rob Trubiani to spearhead local development efforts. Non-Chinese brands like Ford, Kia and Mitsubishi are also heavily involved in Australian vehicle tuning. ABOVE: Chery Tiggo 8 Additionally, Mr Lu outlined feedback received from Australian customers and media was always relayed to Chery's head office in China, which has informed the development of new models and tech, as well as updates for its existing lineup. "Also the user here is different. I remember the first article I saw was from [CarExpert], the gentleman wrote about Chery's vehicle, he mentioned that the vehicle tuning and handling was not that good, suspension not that good," he told CarExpert. "We really take a lot of comments, and try to [improve] that. That's another thing, we really let the local experts help us tune the vehicle, maybe even special versions." MORE: Everything Chery Content originally sourced from: Chery, in its current state, may have only been operating in Australia since 2023, but a global executive says the feedback of Australians could help the brand's cars see success in the United States down the line. Locally, Chery has enjoyed substantial growth in its first few years. To the end of June 2025, the brand had recorded a whopping 228.8 per cent increase in sales from the same period in 2024, the largest of any brand – even the hard-charging BYD. This success has provided Chery with a wealth of feedback and guidance on how to improve its vehicles, with brand chief engineer David Xianqiang Lu telling CarExpert that the lessons learned can also help prepare it for potential future efforts in countries like the US. "From any point of view, the Australian market is very, very important, and that's a reason to come here and try and start in the market," he said. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. ABOVE: Chery Himla "We consider at least two directions right now. One is, in my opinion, that the user here, and the user conditions here, are very close to the USA market. "That's our next target where we want to go, I don't know whether that's the right words or not, but that's our ambition." The US market is uncharted territory for Chinese brands. Efforts to stop Chinese cars from infiltrating its market have led the US Government to impose substantial tariffs on vehicles from the country, which means there are currently no Chinese brands operating in the US, though there are Chinese-owned ones such as Volvo, Polestar and Lotus. A 100 per cent tariff was slugged on Chinese EVs in 2024, followed by reciprocal tariffs imposed on the US by China. Despite that, brands like Chery are planning for the US' stance to soften in the coming years, opening the door for expanded global operations. ABOVE: Chery E5 "I know there are a lot of issues there, but that's a different story. As a company and an engineer, we are looking for the markets where we want to go," Mr Lu told CarExpert. "I believe the Australian market can help us learn a lot about the USA market. We've mentioned about a [pickup], with important towing capacities, which are also very big in USA market, so we can learn a lot." Indeed, Chery has been developing new utes for some time, after earlier efforts like the Karry Higgo and Aika were phased out. It revealed a new ute, the Himla, at this year's Shanghai auto show, and it's understood several others are waiting in the wings – including a yet-to-be-revealed plug-in hybrid (PHEV) expected to come to Australia. ABOVE: The F700 ute, from the Chery-owned Jetour brand. It seems Australia could serve as a test bed for these vehicles, which will undoubtedly vary in size, powertrains, and construction (i.e. body-on-frame or unibody), to prove their worth before being shipped elsewhere. "The other thing is the geographical position, this off-season. For us, in China right now it's summer, very hot, here it's winter," Mr Lu told CarExpert. "Australia also has some mountain area with snow and these kinds of things; we can test a vehicle here. Working together, leveraging global resources, we can further speed up our development process." Any local development undertaken by Chery would follow similar efforts from other Chinese brands, including GWM, which recently hired former Holden handling tuner Rob Trubiani to spearhead local development efforts. Non-Chinese brands like Ford, Kia and Mitsubishi are also heavily involved in Australian vehicle tuning. ABOVE: Chery Tiggo 8 Additionally, Mr Lu outlined feedback received from Australian customers and media was always relayed to Chery's head office in China, which has informed the development of new models and tech, as well as updates for its existing lineup. "Also the user here is different. I remember the first article I saw was from [CarExpert], the gentleman wrote about Chery's vehicle, he mentioned that the vehicle tuning and handling was not that good, suspension not that good," he told CarExpert. "We really take a lot of comments, and try to [improve] that. That's another thing, we really let the local experts help us tune the vehicle, maybe even special versions." MORE: Everything Chery Content originally sourced from: Chery, in its current state, may have only been operating in Australia since 2023, but a global executive says the feedback of Australians could help the brand's cars see success in the United States down the line. Locally, Chery has enjoyed substantial growth in its first few years. To the end of June 2025, the brand had recorded a whopping 228.8 per cent increase in sales from the same period in 2024, the largest of any brand – even the hard-charging BYD. This success has provided Chery with a wealth of feedback and guidance on how to improve its vehicles, with brand chief engineer David Xianqiang Lu telling CarExpert that the lessons learned can also help prepare it for potential future efforts in countries like the US. "From any point of view, the Australian market is very, very important, and that's a reason to come here and try and start in the market," he said. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. ABOVE: Chery Himla "We consider at least two directions right now. One is, in my opinion, that the user here, and the user conditions here, are very close to the USA market. "That's our next target where we want to go, I don't know whether that's the right words or not, but that's our ambition." The US market is uncharted territory for Chinese brands. Efforts to stop Chinese cars from infiltrating its market have led the US Government to impose substantial tariffs on vehicles from the country, which means there are currently no Chinese brands operating in the US, though there are Chinese-owned ones such as Volvo, Polestar and Lotus. A 100 per cent tariff was slugged on Chinese EVs in 2024, followed by reciprocal tariffs imposed on the US by China. Despite that, brands like Chery are planning for the US' stance to soften in the coming years, opening the door for expanded global operations. ABOVE: Chery E5 "I know there are a lot of issues there, but that's a different story. As a company and an engineer, we are looking for the markets where we want to go," Mr Lu told CarExpert. "I believe the Australian market can help us learn a lot about the USA market. We've mentioned about a [pickup], with important towing capacities, which are also very big in USA market, so we can learn a lot." Indeed, Chery has been developing new utes for some time, after earlier efforts like the Karry Higgo and Aika were phased out. It revealed a new ute, the Himla, at this year's Shanghai auto show, and it's understood several others are waiting in the wings – including a yet-to-be-revealed plug-in hybrid (PHEV) expected to come to Australia. ABOVE: The F700 ute, from the Chery-owned Jetour brand. It seems Australia could serve as a test bed for these vehicles, which will undoubtedly vary in size, powertrains, and construction (i.e. body-on-frame or unibody), to prove their worth before being shipped elsewhere. "The other thing is the geographical position, this off-season. For us, in China right now it's summer, very hot, here it's winter," Mr Lu told CarExpert. "Australia also has some mountain area with snow and these kinds of things; we can test a vehicle here. Working together, leveraging global resources, we can further speed up our development process." Any local development undertaken by Chery would follow similar efforts from other Chinese brands, including GWM, which recently hired former Holden handling tuner Rob Trubiani to spearhead local development efforts. Non-Chinese brands like Ford, Kia and Mitsubishi are also heavily involved in Australian vehicle tuning. ABOVE: Chery Tiggo 8 Additionally, Mr Lu outlined feedback received from Australian customers and media was always relayed to Chery's head office in China, which has informed the development of new models and tech, as well as updates for its existing lineup. "Also the user here is different. I remember the first article I saw was from [CarExpert], the gentleman wrote about Chery's vehicle, he mentioned that the vehicle tuning and handling was not that good, suspension not that good," he told CarExpert. "We really take a lot of comments, and try to [improve] that. That's another thing, we really let the local experts help us tune the vehicle, maybe even special versions." MORE: Everything Chery Content originally sourced from:

WA news LIVE: Woman lucky to be alive after Perth tornado sends wooden plank flying
WA news LIVE: Woman lucky to be alive after Perth tornado sends wooden plank flying

Sydney Morning Herald

timean hour ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

WA news LIVE: Woman lucky to be alive after Perth tornado sends wooden plank flying

Latest posts Latest posts 9.31am Woman lucky to be alive after Perth tornado sends wooden plank flying A woman is lucky to be alive after a tornado hit residents in City Beach – the force of the wind picking up a four-metre long wooden plank and hurling it 200 metres in her direction. Perth artist John Major told 9News Perth he heard his wife scream, after part of his neighbours' porch smashed his outdoor glass table. It was right next to a window, behind which his wife was sitting. 'Another two or three inches to the left or the right and it would have come flying through the window,' Major said. 'My wife would have been dead, there's no doubt about it.' You can watch the CCTV footage that captured that moment, and hear more of Major's story, below. 9.31am Across Australia and around the world Here's what's making headlines elsewhere today: Gaza ceasefire negotiations have collapsed in Qatar, with United States mediators returning home after blaming Hamas for the breakdown in talks. The departure of American negotiators follows the same move from Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu hours earlier, with US special envoy Steve Witkoff saying his team would 'now consider alternative options' to secure stability in the region. Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong will meet their United Kingdom counterparts in Sydney, two days after this masthead confirmed Australia had paid the United States another $800 million towards the AUKUS submarine deal under review by the Trump administration. It comes as the Albanese government lifts its import ban on US beef, a key restriction raised by Trump for his proposed sweeping tariffs on Australian goods. Professional wrestling icon Hulk Hogan has died at the age of 71. Hogan was pronounced dead at a Florida hospital after authorities responded to a call about a cardiac arrest on Thursday morning (local time), with local police saying there were 'no signs of foul play or suspicious activity' associated with Hogan's death. US President Donald Trump was among those paying tribute to Hogan, saying his cultural impact was 'massive'. The Australian sharemarket is expected to retreat on Friday, as Wall Street hangs near its records in afternoon trading. The ASX fell on Thursday, with Macquarie shares among the biggest laggards on the bourse. It comes as Trump visited US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Thursday afternoon (local time), two days after Trump labelled Powell a 'numbskull' who will be 'out pretty soon'.

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