Watchmaker Bremont takes its own time with move into China market

British-based Bremont has become the latest luxury watchmaker joining the fray for a piece of the mainland's fast-growing middle-class market despite signs of a slowing economy.

The watchmaker, which sold its first piece in 2007, opened its first overseas store in Hong Kong as "a stepping stone" to the mainland, co-founder Giles English told the South China Morning Post.

"Many mainland people come to Hong Kong and shop, and we make sure they go home and know Bremont," English said. "It is silly to miss China, a market so important that one has to do it correctly."

Better known among chronometer collectors and the aviation and military industries, the mechanical watch brand is a relative newcomer to a market seemingly overrun by Swiss rivals such as Rolex and Breitling.

China, which encourages domestic consumption and is moving away from an export-based economy for sustainable growth, has turned into a battleground for overseas consumer brands.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch chief economist Lu Ting said the mainland's retail sales might be stronger in the first few months of this year than the same period last year.

In 2013, domestic consumption felt the chill of the Chinese state leadership's crackdown on government officials' spending on luxuries, which saw retail sales growth taper to 13.1 per cent from 14.3 per cent in 2012.