Neil duckworth veritime

HOT 100 2014: Neil Duckworth Veritime

When Neil Duckworth made a shock exit from watch distributor Nuval in 2011 many people in the industry speculated over what he would do next. Well, they didn’t have long, as before the year was out Neil was busy setting up new distributor Veritime.

The past three years have been an uphill struggle for Neil and his small team, or his angels as he likes to refer to the “irrepressible and delightful” Emma on sales, the “lovely and fragrant” Francesca in marketing and the “exotic and charming” Lilet in the back office. But the hard work is paying off.

Veritime now represents Ulysse Nardin, Meistersinger, Eterna and H Moser & Cie in the UK, and Neil says he’s putting his all into improving the fortunes of each and every brand under his stewardship. Key successes of the past year have been signing a deal with Goldsmiths for Eterna and persuading Watches of Switzerland to take Ulysse Nardin back after dropping it three years ago.

“Our aim is to build a solid and high-quality UK watch distribution company that derives its strength and success not through how many brands we distribute but through the quality of brands we distribute, and the quality of relationship we have with those brands so that a long and successful future is guaranteed for our customers, our retailers and ourselves,” says Neil.

When he’s not singing the praises of his brands, Neil is busy singing with his local choir. And if he has any spare time away from the world of watches you can probably find him with his head in a sheet of music as he attempts to “increase my repertoire on the piano to include three Schubert songs and one of the more obscure Beethoven sonatas”.

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