Many traders — including even the largest dealers generating sales worth tens of millions of dollars — see websites and social media as shop windows, but the real action and transactions often take place over WhatsApp after details are exchanged and negotiations concluded.
That is the background to the development of Winder, an app for Android or Apple phones, that broadens WhatsApp’s reach from private groups into a global network.
The app is the brainchild of Baran Kara, a Dubai-based entrepreneur who is looking for investment to scale up the business.
It acts as both a storefront for watches offered by potentially thousands of dealers across the world, and an instant way for people to move from browsing to a one-on-one private conversation between a buyer and a seller.
Watches are all presented in a WhatsApp-friendly format, and can be searched by brand or reference.
A quick test by Watchpro got me into a conversation with a Turkish dealer for a couple of bi-colour Rolex GMT Master pieces ($22,000 for the one on the left, since you ask).
Most likely, the platform will be most useful for business to business transactions between established dealers, most of which will already by in many WhatsApp groups that they need to keep switching between.
In the conversation with a dealer, WatchPro was told that completing any transaction would be through Facebook, so Winder will struggle to earn commission from any deals, but listing fees may make it a sustainable business.
