Hodinkee Joins Forces With Watches Of Switzerland

I can rattle off a list of achievements (Time Magazine's 50 Best Websites In The World; Fast Company's Most Innovative Company four, maybe five, times; Fortune's 40 Under 40 list, etc.), of moments that will live on in wristwatch lore (the first Talking Watches, the "cheese knife," or Travel Clock – which remains awesome, you're just gonna have to trust me there – our collaborations with Vacheron, Hermès, IWC, Omega, MB&F, etc.), or tout just how incredible our business has been. And those would be fair things to cite when looking at Hodinkee's past. But I think sometimes people spend too much time looking at the past of Hodinkee and not enough about the present or the future.

Right now, and as of August of this year, Hodinkee is more focused on creating the best, most informative, and entertaining content around watches in the world than it has been in years. Literally years. And since day one, it's been about more than just one voice. The team of writers we have in place now is changing the game – and I believe in them as the future leaders of this industry.  And as you have seen, our priority is editorial. That doesn't mean this is a charity – and I was clear about what we would continue to do in this open letter – in spite of the 460+ comments, it's as if many chose not to read it. :)

And when we, Hodinkee, do a limited edition, you best believe we are doing so for good reason. It's because we have something to add to the global narrative of a product.

We helped support and build the watch industry of today, and now we must adapt with it.

Here's the thing – watches and the world around them have changed A LOT over the last few years. In a shocking way, really. And if there is one truth in Hodinkee, and well, in me, it is that we will never stop moving forward. We will try things. Many of them will work, some of them will not, and all the while, we believe it is our duty to keep pushing for the sake of the greater watch industry. So, with that in mind, I am here to tell you that as of today, Hodinkee is joining forces with a group we, and the entire industry, have long admired – one of the oldest and most important partners to over 120 watch and jewelry brands – Watches of Switzerland.

Oh, and with that, I am coming back to Hodinkee. Full time. As President and primary decision-maker. Watches of Switzerland is the right partner for me and this business and now is the right time. As some of you may know, I stepped down as CEO in 2020 and took a bit of time for myself and my family. With that, ownership and control of Hodinkee was no longer with me. Yes, I remained a board member, and yes, I was still a part of the team, but not in the way I think you would want me to be. As of today, the moment this story is published, I am indeed the primary leader of Hodinkee, and as of today, there should be no confusion about ownership – we are a part of the Watches of Switzerland Group, fully, proudly, and henceforth.

So how did we get here? Well, it's a long, winding story – but suffice it to say, Hodinkee has always been a business that people liked and respected. Famously, we received our first acquisition offer over ten years ago, when we were all of three people. Instead, we raised money and went out on our own. That was around 2015 or so. Around the same time, I received an email from a friend in Europe saying I should talk to some folks at the largest UK retailer because they were thinking about the U.S. market. I did – and those people were Brian Duffy and David Hurley, then, and still now, the guys behind the Watches of Switzerland Group. We got along great, and I remember thinking then, "Wow, if these guys came into the U.S. – it would really, really shake things up." And it has. And all for the better – because you have to remember just how, well, bad watch retail was in the U.S. 10 years ago. Sure, you could get watches more easily, but the product was often commoditized, with poor experiences for the consumer more frequent than was deserved. Watches of Switzerland, when they came into the U.S., helped change that and, with it, the entire retail scene here. With Watches of Switzerland in place, others had to level up, and they did. The U.S. market is now the largest, and most stable, market for watches in the world.

Over the past few years, first fueled by the hot market during Covid and then perhaps by its cooling shortly thereafter, this tiny industry that I am proud to be a part of has gotten larger in footprint but smaller in its number of primary players. Basically, everyone started to look at how they could work together. We also received a bunch of notes from CEOs and owner types to see if Hodinkee would be interested in joining forces – in other words, selling the company. And in most cases, from my perspective as the founder, as well as that of our CEO and shareholders, the answer was no. It just didn't make sense. It wasn't exciting. And frankly, you guys would've hated a lot of those ideas, and that played a big role here. But the plan that Watches of Switzerland put in front of us made a lot of sense – actually, more than that, it got me excited. So much so that I wanted to step into a formal leadership role at this company for the first time in almost four years. So what is the plan? Imagine the Hodinkee that I built as an editorial leader but with the backing of arguably the best partner the watch industry has in the Western world – a company that sells almost $2 billion per year of watches globally. That represents over 120 different brands, from top to bottom, big and small. Not only does WOS support the big guys, but as of May of this year, they've partnered with the AHCI and is the exclusive retail partner to the GPHG for North America. 

In other words, Watches of Switzerland is, well, watches. And I think that should make a lot of you happy. In the past, there seemed to be some confusion about who exactly called the shots here – and now, Hodinkee is in my hands and a company that is dedicated to the furthering of nothing but the global culture of watches. And that should feel great.

Now, what will that mean for this site? Well, as I said in August, we're gonna sit back from retail and let our partners at Watches of Switzerland do the selling. We'll do the writing and the special things that only we can do. That means we will now have more time and energy to focus on what we believe truly makes us special – the ability to inform, educate, and entertain. Will we cover brands that Watches of Switzerland doesn't sell? Absolutely. Will we cover interesting retailers that have nothing to do with Watches of Switzerland? Absolutely. Will we now be able to activate, from time to time, in one of the group's over 230 boutiques and showrooms around the world? Absolutely – and how amazing is that? To be able to do Hodinkee events all around the globe and have a home wherever we go has long been a dream of ours.

To me, Hodinkee becoming a part of the Watches of Switzerland Group will allow us to be the best version of Hodinkee possible – and with them being a partner to, well, pretty much everyone in the entire industry – we can't wait for the future. As for me, I'm thrilled to be back in the driver's seat and doing so with Brian Duffy, David Hurley, and the entire Watches of Switzerland Group by my side.

Now that this deal is done and I've suited up again, you'll be seeing a lot more of me around here. Until then, keep reading, and we'll talk again very soon!