WATCHPRO twice interviewed Eugene Tutunikov, chief executive of Atlanta-based pre-owned luxury watch specialist SwissWatchExpo during the pandemic.
The first time was a Zoom call in late March 2020, days after President Trump had ordered the country into lock down and for all non-essential retail to close.
If Eugene was terrified by what the pandemic was throwing at him, it didn’t show.
In fact, he confidently predicted that 2020 would be a record year.
How right he was.
As the world was forced to work (and shop) from home, they found time to study luxury watches, not only for their horological and artistic beauty, but also for their investment potential.
Within weeks of the first lock down, demand bounced back and then started to rise vertiginously, particularly for the sort of waiting-list unicorn watches that SwissWatchExpo specializes in.
Eugene’s confidence was not simply the positivity of a born entrepreneur.
It came from his business model, which is to take maximum advantage of the tight-knit teamwork that comes from operating as a lean family-owned and family-run firm.
This keeps overheads lower than wealthier rivals, and ensures that when things get tough, they simply work harder to make up for any shortfalls.
“We are proud to be a family business and we all pull together,” Eugene says.
“In those early days of the pandemic, we knew we would find a way to keep the company going, even when we were forced to close the store.”
The vast majority of SwissWatchExpo’s sales are online, but serving the local Atlanta community is an important part of the story, particularly as it brings a sense of community to the family-run business.
Eugene is proud of the bricks-and-mortar store, which possibly has a greater density of watches per square foot than any other retailer in the country.
On any day, a customer is likely to be able to browse about 2,500 timepieces, all authenticated and serviced.
“Whether it is someone buying a watch to celebrate a promotion, a present for a loved one or friend, commemorate a retirement, wedding, graduation, or first bonus, if we can ensure they end up with a watch they love, we play a role in that event’s memory staying alive and celebrated through the years, and that is certainly something to be proud of,” Eugene concludes.
