An interesting point is raised in our main interview this month, and it is the subject of reinvesting into a company to facilitate growth, rather than growing a company on minimal budgets to extract gains.
For Redgrave Luxury boss Peter Harrison, the way he is reinvesting is by running the distribution of Richard Mille not as an external contractor but through a joint venture with the watchmaker.
He believes – and you can read more about this here – that this close model of cooperation is the way forward for watch distribution because it means a higher proportion of the money made by the distributor is invested back into the brand, rather than just used for pocket lining.
It also means the way the watch brand is presented, and so perceived, is exactly how it was envisioned; not the local distributor’s edited vision of what they think the brand should look like, or how best to present it to make a quick buck. It is an interesting theory and we’d love to hear your feedback on it.
In general, not investing in a brand or a shop is a short-term plan. In tough times it can seem frivolous to spend large amounts on marketing, a new store fit or incentivising your team. But equally, when budgets are tight and purchases considered, the customer is looking for the extraordinary. Decade-old branding and unexciting window displays are unlikely to titillate.
What will whisk them off their street is an unusual watch offer, and we can certainly offer you plenty of inspiration for building that in this issue, with all the latest BaselWorld releases which you can see in our dedicated online channel and some very irregular choices of materials in our most recent trends feature, including a watch made with blood.
This column originally appeared in the March 2013 issue of WatchPro magazine. To view a digital version of the magazine click here.
