sales online, the company is now setting its sights on the rest of the world. Shinola is based in a historic building in Detroit that once housed a General Motors design centre. It endeavours to source all its materials in the United States and employs local people, often former automobile workers. “I think there’s a genuine movement of young, urban people who want to know where their food or their clothing comes from, and they also want to know about the manufacturing conditions,” notes John Argento, the company’s European director. For the time being, the majority of Shinola’s clients are American, and its revenues are split more or less equally between online sales from their beautifully designed website, retail partners and standalone shops. This year Shinola will open its first store in Canada, and it aims to conquer Europe. “We opened our first London store a year and a half ago, and at the same time we began retailing in some major department stores and concept stores like Colette in Paris. At the time, we hadn’t approached any watch retailers outside the United States. This year, we decided to extend our distribution to watch professionals.” You have been warned!
58 | ENTRY-LEVEL | europa star
NIXON, URBAN SURFER A little longer in the tooth than the other brands in this summary (it was founded in 1997 in California), Nixon is also enjoying strong growth and is equally at home in an influential concept store like Colette. The American brand is the darling of a very young, very cool clientele, who are also well-informed about watch design. This lifestyle brand prized by surfers and skaters also makes headphones. It is part since 2014 of Trilantic Capital Partners portfolio, and its value is estimated at more than 400 million dollars.
“Purely through word of mouth to start with, and also through social media, which gave it a new dimension, we have succeeded in widening our client base, which is no longer limited to the world of surfing and skating,” explains CEO Nick Stowe. Its products have also evolved. The brand has just launched its first smartwatch, the Mission. It has also extended its women’s collection and embarked upon collaborative ventures, such as the Star Wars collection, which opens up yet more potential buyers. Nixon’s broadly-based collection has ensured it a presence in 80 countries and 10,000 points of sale. u