Fromanteel started life as a clockmaking company in Amsterdam in the 17th century. Over 350 years later, the company now produces fine crafted watches under the same name. WatchPro spoke to co-owner and marketing director Alfredo Silva about his ambitions for the brand here in the UK.
WP: When was Fromanteel founded?
AS: Fromanteel was founded about 7 years ago by me, Alfredo Silva, and Martijn van Hassel in Amsterdam. The idea to start our watch brand actually came from an unmet need we spotted, which was an affordable alternative to luxury.
WP: What is Fromanteel’s unique selling point?
AS: We design affordable luxury Swiss Made watches. Basically, all our designs have the look, feel and quality of a premium brand, but for an affordable price. The brand, Fromanteel, is also characterized by fine layering in terms of history and storytelling, which is closely related to the lifestyle of our target group.
WP: What role do you play within the company?
AS: I am responsible of all the marketing and communications of Fromanteel. Together with our Atelier in Switzerland, we always try to keep both the market demand and the type of consumer in mind when designing our watches. Take for example our Generations Series: completely inspired by the gentleman and its wishes. For this reason we fly back and forth to Switzerland on a regular basis – a perfect example of why we love our jobs.
WP: How important is the UK market to Fromanteel?
AS: The UK market is very important for us, especially in the sense that shortly after our establishment, we already started selling our watches via our online shop in the UK. From our experiences with the UK market, it seemed that the UK consumer could be easily reached online. In addition, the design of the watches, their modest character and favourable pricing fits very well with UK men.
WP: What retailers would the brand like to work with in the UK?
AS: Fromanteel wishes to work with a jeweller who carries products with both our price level – 300 to 1000 euros – and the price level that lies just above the 1000 euros. We position ourselves as an affordable alternative to the premium luxury brands, and we see that in all the countries we are present this works out quite well in the stores. Additionally, Fromanteel is a brand that needs to be valued by discovery. That is why we also focus on the so-called lifestyle and concept stores, e.g. menswear, coffee and barbers shops.
