Step-by-step instructions: How to open an online watch store

Watch Business

Magazine

"Watch Business"

— a watchmakers' magazine in Russia.

Content

• 1 General facts
• 2 Magazine audience
• 3 Magazine distribution
• 4 Edition
• 5 Structure of the magazine 5.1 Market
• 5.2 First person
• 5.3 Model range
• 5.4 Counter
• 5.5 Master's Corner

Market Features

Selling watches is a very interesting niche. On the one hand, stereotypes rule the roost here, on the other hand, indisputable facts stand up like a stone wall. Let's look at all aspects of this market:

1. Let's start with the fly in the ointment, which turns out to be not so bitter. So, they say that no one needs a watch now. However, why then do serious businessmen and officials flaunt expensive watches, and young people show off new models of smart watches to each other? This means that the point is not that watches as a class are outdated. You just need to find your target audience. But more on that below.
2. Let's start tasting a barrel of honey. The first plus is that watches are still a good gift . Wrist, wall, electronic, antique with a pendulum - the choice is huge. Replicas of expensive watches, which are now popular, are also a profitable direction. Just indicate right away that these are not originals, otherwise problems cannot be avoided.
3. The markup in this area ranges from 50 to 200%. The highest markup is on branded items (they are high-margin goods) and smart watches, which are considered gadgets. The lower one is for wall and classic clocks.
4. Many online stores can include watches in their product range and sell them successfully. If you have a home goods store, sell wall and grandfather clocks. Lovers of vintage and handmade items will love antique or handmade watches that will decorate their home. Gadget connoisseurs will be delighted with smart watches.

Individual entrepreneur registration

Yes, for starters, it’s still better to be an individual entrepreneur, not an LLC. When you turn around, you can form an LLC, but for now it’s enough to become an individual entrepreneur . And you pay less taxes, and there is less reporting, and you don’t need a license to trade watches. You need to register an individual entrepreneur with the tax office; this is done in just a few days.

Business plan

Well, it's time to get down to business! Before purchasing goods and creating a website, you need to draw up a business plan:

1. Choosing a form of activity. You can work directly with suppliers and clients as a seller, or you can act as an intermediary using a dropshipping scheme. In this case, you will not have to purchase goods - you will cooperate with another online store: publish photos and product cards on the site, search for buyers, explain to them the terms of the order and redirect them to the real seller. For this you will receive your percentage.
2. Market analysis. Study the level of demand, the main competitors in your region and the country as a whole. Take a look at competitors' websites: look at their range, prices and discounts. Study the price lists of suppliers and calculate what markup they make. At first, to attract attention, you can lower the markup a little, and then, when you gain popularity, raise your prices.
3. The financial side of the matter. Calculate all your expenses (for office rent, purchasing goods, salaries for salespeople, website creation, advertising campaigns) and estimated income for at least the first six months. In the “Costs” column you need to put more than the resulting amount - unforeseen expenses will definitely arise.

The target audience

Who are your customers? There are several main categories of people who buy watches:

• wealthy people: they take watches of expensive brands, jewelry that costs more than your entire store together with goods. Alas, these are not your clients: these guys buy watches in completely different places;
• people who want to appear wealthy and buy replicas. They may well be your target audience;
• athletes, adherents of a healthy lifestyle - choose smart watches for fitness: with the functions of a stopwatch, timer, pedometer, pulse and calorie meter and other special features;
• young people who are fond of gadgets: smart watches have been invented for them, which should definitely be in your assortment. Smart watches replace a smartphone in many ways: they can receive calls, messages, function as a calendar, and so on;
• women who are looking for household goods and furnishing their homes. Also your clients: they buy wall, floor, and mantel clocks, and look for unusual, interesting models.

Range

Actually, everything is clear: your store should have either all of the above products or one category in which there is a large selection. For example, a wall clock for any room, any interior, any style. Market researchers say smartwatches and wrist models are the most popular .

We advise you to focus on watches in the mid-price category: within 1-5 thousand. Selling expensive watches is too risky: this segment of the target audience is not so large, and you can simply go broke. Cheap Chinese watches at a suspiciously low price are also not suitable: they break quickly, and you will receive a lot of complaints from angry customers. And the markup on them will be minimal: fortunately, such goods are available in bulk on Chinese sites.

Also include related products in your assortment: watch straps, different types of batteries, some parts, care products. A good option with additional services: you can provide watch repairs, warranty service, cleaning and polishing, and custom-made watches. In this case, you will have to hire a watchmaker to your team or, if you are an expert in this matter, provide the services yourself.

Suppliers

There are two options: either contact the manufacturing factory directly, or look for wholesale suppliers . The manufacturer will be able to sell you a batch with a minimum markup, subject to wholesale purchase. Consider whether it's worth it and whether you can sell out the entire lot. You can buy smaller quantities from wholesalers, and the assortment will be more varied. And you can set your own markup, depending on the original price of the product.

Pay attention to Chinese manufacturers and suppliers: not those that sell plastic watches for a penny, but serious companies that use advanced technologies and step on the heels of the monsters of electronics and technology. It was the Chinese who came up with a lot of smart models that are not inferior in functionality to their American counterparts and at a lower price.

Delivery

There are several ways to deliver watches: by courier, Russian Post, transport companies. Remember that watches are fragile goods, so make sure that each model is carefully packed in a case or box. Mark the container with the words “Caution!” or “Protect from shocks” in order to deliver the watch to the client safe and sound.

Staff

Any online store has permanent and remote workers (or outsourced employees). Hire a permanent manager, sales consultant, or courier. If finances allow, hire a marketer or advertising specialist: this will allow you to reduce costs on advertising campaigns. Remote employees, as a rule, work under a contract agreement. These are copywriters who create descriptions in product cards, write blog articles and posts on social networks, designers who design the corporate identity of the site, and make covers on social networks. It is better to hire an accountant under an outsourcing agreement: you do not need him full-time.

[edit] Journal structure

[edit] Market

The “Market” section publishes information and analytical articles about changes in the Russian and global watch market, statistical information on the Russian economy, articles about advertising in the watch business, marketing research, information about exhibitions and other watch market events.

[edit] First person

In the “First Person” section, forecasts of the top officials of the Russian and foreign watch business about the market situation, interviews, and reviews are published.

[edit] Model range

Messages about new brands and models on the watch market in Russia and the world. Comparisons, tests, photo reports.

[edit] Counter

Information for watch store employees. Sales techniques, store organization, legal and legal issues, trading psychology, comparison of sales practices, etc.

[edit] Master's Corner

Information intended for watchmakers.

Business components

The basic element of wall clocks are clock mechanisms, which come in discrete motion, discrete motion with high torque, smooth motion and with a pendulum. Moreover, the same mechanisms can differ significantly in price. For example, when purchasing a ticking discrete motion mechanism MDH 12.5 (with 60 steps per minute) at retail, you will have to pay about 150 rubles, but if you buy in bulk, say, a hundred pieces, then its cost will drop to 48 rubles. By the way, good quality smooth running mechanisms are slightly more expensive.

“For the assortment, it is desirable to have other mechanisms,” says entrepreneur Arthur Arushanyan from Rostov Nakhichevan. “And of course, mechanisms with a pendulum and a cuckoo.” According to him, a lot depends on marketing

part of this business. If you need mass calendar or gift products, then it is best to focus on cheap mechanisms. The same craftsmen, in particular cabinetmakers, who make watch cabinets under glass, will require expensive and reliable mechanisms with high torque.

Mechanisms require hands, which can also be the simplest - penny ones, as well as those that pretend to be aristocratic - with a complex ornate design. Numbers and other signs for the dial are chosen to match the hands. Pendulum hangers will help to add sophistication to a watch, and thereby increase the added value.

In general, for those who decide to make wall clocks , the market currently has everything you need to get started, and for little money.

[edit] Links

[edit] Publications with links to the journal

• Article with reference to “Watch Business” in the information and analytical newspaper “BelGazeta”
• Article with reference to “Watch Business” in the information and analytical publication “Business Press”
• An article with a link to “Watch Business” on the website casio.ru, dedicated to Casio watches

[edit] Publications of Black White in other publications and on Internet sites

• Article from the Watch Business magazine on the Time Decor website
• Article from the Watch Business magazine on the website horology.ru, dedicated to the art of watchmaking
• Publications from the Watch Business magazine on the Retail.ru website dedicated to retail trade
• Publication from the “Watch Business” magazine in the business weekly “Profile”
• Publication from the Watch Business magazine on the Mtime.ru website dedicated to quartz watches
• Publication from the “Watch Business” magazine on the “Interesting Things” website
• Publication from the Watch Business magazine on the Hours-Time website
• Publication from the Watch Business magazine on the SwissWatches website

Pros and cons of wall clock business

“I made cases and dials myself, I cut glass for watches myself - square and round, but I could not find a sales market in my city. I sold natural wood for 350 rubles, but everyone wanted to buy it for 150-170 rubles. What kind of business will there be here if the cost at the exit is 180 rubles, and there is no opportunity to sell in another city. So all my machines are sleeping,” forum member shodyrev told his sad story at the “Wall Clock Production” business forum.

Another faustmaster entrepreneur told his story differently: “I focused on making wall clocks using the fusing method. For one watch – 40 by 40 cm – you will need imported glass “Spectrum Glass 96” worth 600 rubles. Of course – colored stones and rhinestones. And, of course, you should decide on the paint. It turns out very beautifully, so there are no problems with sales.”

There are quite a lot of such stories – successful and not so successful – but they are all united by an interest in this skill with shades of art. The failure of some and the success of others is determined only by a successful pricing policy - that is, the ratio of aesthetic appeal and consumer opportunities, since they are willing to pay a lot for a beautiful watch, but for an “unaesthetic” one they are sorry for a penny.

Alexander Sitnikov, specially for Equipnet.ru