Complete Guide To Start Your Own Watch Brand 2023

Do you generate an idea to start your own watch brand but discouraged by existing watch brands in the market or no idea how much it will cost to start?

Indeed, the watch industry is highly competitive, but you can also succeed to build your own popular watch brand with right business strategy. When MVMT comes to this battlefield, there are many brands already, but now MVMT are running a business with turnover 71 million dollars (2017).

Online watch and jewelry sales is $8.2 billion in the United States, and the demand is sustained, that is why companies like Apple and Samsung also come to this industry.

Don’t you think you can achieve your ambition with starting your own watches business? So go ahead and learn from your competitors instead of being discouraged and find out why they can succeed.

Start Your Own Watch Brand

Once you decided to step into watches business, it is necessary to draw up a plan to start your own watch company from zero.

Make an Outline of Your Watch Business

This will guide your entire journey as a founder of your watch brand. Ask yourself: what is my ultimate goal for my brand? Do I want to be a brand name sold in Amazon and Macy’s? Do I want to create a watch brand for a company like Daniel Wellington or MVMT? Do I want to create a premium watch brand that’s sold in a boutique in LA? Identify your goal and keep it foremost in your mind as you are building your own watch brand.

A few important points to consider are:

• Budget
• Target market
• Watch designs
• Profit

Let us talk more about the two points budget and profit which you may focus most on.

Budget:

Usually it includes below costs to start your own watch brand.

• Producing watch prototypes and inventory purchasing
• Building a team
• Building a website
• Marketing campaign

Profit:

Most new watch startups set the retail price around $60. This price point isn’t very profitable yet but it will help you to achieve more audience. In order to establish a customer base, lower- and higher-priced watches can be offered for diversity. A watch company can make a substantial profit even in its first year due to the customer base is expanded. Within one year of opening, Watch Outfitters was bringing in $13,500 in sales each month. That’s an annual gross revenue of $162,000, and a lot of that is profit.

To increase your profit, you can design and build your own unique OEM watches. This involves more work but gives a business truly unique watches to sell. Additionally, the profit margin on watches is more when the watches are different from other common designs in the market.

Set a Price Point For Your Watches.

The watch style and pricing model are essential when starting a watch company. They will set the tone for your brand and help you find your ideal customer.

If you decide to sell high-end expensive watches, do proper research on the most popular luxury watch brands. This will help you see what they sell, their prices, marketing strategy, and suppliers. 

If you want to sell more affordable watches, figure out what your audience and customers would wear. Are you going for a minimalistic style, a fashion-forward style, or a sports watch?

You can start by offering several different styles and price points in the beginning and see how your customers behave and what they like. Then you can narrow down your offer to match their needs.

Find Watches Manufacturers

Finding a custom watch manufacturer for your watches may be the hardest part, but it’s worth all the research and time you’ll spend to choose the best one. If you decide to create and produce your own watches from China, make sure the watch manufacturer is legitimate, have the skills, experience, and easy to work with.

Ops is a watch manufacturer with own factory, and working with some renowned watch brands in the world. Ops also provides free samples to test the quality, so you can get one to check the quality first.

If you choose a watches factory in abroad, keep in mind that you may not be able to control the watches manufacturing process. On the other hand, if you don’t produce watches yourself, you’ll need to find reliable watch manufacturer to purchase watches from.

The vetting process could take months before you find the best company to partner with. It can also cost a lot of money.

Build A Team

No matter you start a watch business from home or start a watch company in office, you’ll probably need some help in building the business from the ground up. Aside from administrative tasks, you’ll also need people to handle your social media, website, operations, and bookkeeping.

If you work with a factory, you’ll need someone to handle this process and make sure the product is impeccable. If you decide to make your own watches, you’ll need a team of experienced watch manufacturer that will bring your ideas into reality.

Avoid launching a watch company all by yourself as you’ll quickly become overwhelmed. Also, set aside significant capital so when you need to hire someone, you’ll have enough money to cover several months of salary and benefits.

Establish A Website

Having a company website is necessary in today’s business climate, even if you don’t sell watches online. It’s the first place your customers will look for your brand, so you have to meet them where they are.

Your website should have quality product images, detailed product descriptions, an About Us page, contact information, and other important information about your business.

If you sell online, create a blog where you’ll write valuable posts on how to make watches work with any fashion style, differences in craftsmanship and movement, style guides and gift guides for men and women. This will help you rank on search engines and help customers find the right watch for their budget and lifestyle.

If budget is limited, you can try to build the website youself through Shopify which is the most popular way to start a small business. There is less hassel to build it even you have zero knowledge of coding, but just drag your pictures to their template.

Develop a Marketing Strategy

The watch industry is highly competitive. If you’re starting an micro watch brand, be prepared to compete against DW, Cluse, MVMT, Paul Hewitt and other key players. As a distributor or retailer, you’re competing against chain stores, jewelry shops and even supermarkets. Therefore, it’s crucial to have a solid marketing plan.

From online advertising and influencer marketing to local events and trade shows, there are endless ways to promote a watch company. The key is to show customers how your brand provides value and what makes it stand out. Create a story around your business and how everything began.

Get on Social Media

Social media is one of the best and most affordable ways to reach a huge audience and raise brand awareness. Aside from social media profiles, you’ll need a solid marketing and advertising strategy to help your business grow.

You should post quality content that will bring value to your audience so they can connect with your brand. Posting photos of your products isn’t enough – you’ll need to engage with your followers and answer questions about your products.

Instagram has become a popular platform for this, and many Instagram influencers are happy to promote new fashion brands in exchange for products. Share behind-the-scenes photos and videos on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and other social networks.

Set Realistic Sales and Distribution Goals.

Don’t be afraid to partner with a business professional to embark on this step. Just because you have a fashion vision doesn’t mean that you know about clothing distribution. If you can hit your sales goals, you can continue to grow, as per your business plan.

Now Create Your Own Remarkable Watch Brand!

Starting a watch company is exciting and challenging, but with some business acumen, the right product, and a great business plan, anything is possible.  These tips will help you build a recognizable, successful watch brand that customers will come back to and tell their friends about.

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