Xupes announces global plans and opens in Amsterdam

Xupes, one of the UK’s leading pre-owned luxury e-tailers, which specialise in vintage handbags, timepieces and unique luxury jewellery, has opened their first store outside of the UK in Amsterdam, as it launches its global expansion plans.

Located in the centre of Amsterdam, the Xupes store is on the doorstep of the Vondelpark in west Amsterdam and marks Xupes’ first by-appointment retail space in mainland Europe.

Built in a traditional Dutch style, ‘the Red Castle’ is 1,000 square foot and will act as the Xupes office in Europe for its “expanding” team, as well as a showroom that will invite clients by-appointment “to take all the time they need to make a purchase”.

Xupes added that Amsterdam was chosen as the brand’s first store outside of the UK due to the e-commerce market of the Netherlands being amongst the biggest in the world, as well as the company’s links as founder entrepreneur Joseph McKenzie spent a lot of his childhood in the country as his father Frank is half Dutch.

In a statement, Joseph McKenzie said: “The pre-owned market is growing in popularity and with good reason. We are excited to launch our global retail expansion in an extremely exciting new marketplace, and somewhere close to our hearts.”

Xupes opens first store outside of the UK in Amsterdam

The new store is based on Xupes’ original headquarters ‘the Wheat Barn’, located in the heart of England’s countryside, the converted 17th-century barn has dedicated client spaces as well as a fully equipped watchmaking centre, professional photography studio and office space for their 50 headcount staff.

Watches will remain a core part of the Dutch business, with vintage timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Omega, IWC, Cartier and Patek Philippe, going through the initial stages of authentication, right through to refurbishment and quality control, by Xupes’ in- house watchmakers to ensure every timepiece meets their high standards.

The second biggest category at Xupes is handbags. Initiated in April 2015, the collection offers the new, pre-owned and vintage pieces, from Hermes Birkins to Chanel 2.55’s to Louis Vuitton Keepalls. Jewellery and Fine Art form the remainder of their carefully curated collection.

“Our aim is to be Europe’s leading luxury pre-owned destination within the next year,” added McKenzie. “We have a genuine love for the products we sell and understand the important roles they can play in people's lives, whether that be marking a career milestone, a gift for a loved one, or becoming an heirloom to pass down the family. We want to help anyone who aspires to own one of these beautiful pieces of design and offer an enjoyable and trustworthy way of purchasing it, whether that be in one of our showrooms or via our website.”

Alongside the store opening, Xupes also announced other global development plans including the launch of its translated version of the English website, as well as adding that further retail expansion was planned for Q4 2019, following the recruitment of a new head of watchmaking, Megan Young alongside a new chief financial officer, Tom Oliver.

Images: courtesy of Xupes