02.2 the joint venture

SWATCH GROUP WITH JIN JIANG HOTELS

In 2007 Swatch Group, the world’s largest watchmaker, and Jing Jiang Group, China’s leading hotel and travel group, announced they had signed a joint venture agreement regarding the Peace Hotel South Building, one of Shanghai’s (and China’s) most celebrated monuments.

The former Peace Hotel is situated at the intersection of Nanjing Road and The Bund, the historic former financial district and Shanghai’s most famous landmark. Over the course of a long-term commitment to the historical heritage of the city and its cultural monuments, the Joint Venture partners agreed to restore the Peace Hotel South Building, located at Bund 19.

Under the leadership of Swatch Group, the Swatch Art Peace Hotel concept blends a retail environment with a hotel where artists live and work and an international center devoted to contemporary art, culture and hospitality. Restoration work began in 2008 and was completed three years later. The first artists began working in their workshops in April 2011, and The Swatch Art Peace Hotel is now open to the public.