MARC FRANKEL Video Editor Youtube channel https :// www . youtube . com / user / islandwatchdotcom
It Pays to Listen , Literally
I ’ ve been selling watches online for nearly twenty years at this point . That ’ s twenty years of selling OTHER people ’ s watches . How did I come to launch my own successful brand , Islander , in 2019 - and what took so long ?
Well , it turns out that waiting those twenty years was one of the best decisions I ’ ve ever made . During all those years of selling watches , I heard every gripe imaginable , ranging from “ this watch doesn ’ t hack ” to “ why did they not use a screwdown crown ”? Little did I know it , but my brain was storing all these little nuggets of information . Slowly , my subconscious was building a watch that would appeal to the mass majority of my customers . Sort of like a brick building goes up , just brick by brick , eventually you have something substantial .
The turning point came about when it seemed to be the darkest for my online business , LongIslandWatch . com . One of the most popular pieces I sold , the iconic Seiko SKX diver , was slated to be retired . This was a rumor that was kicked around online for a few years , but thankfully I always seemed to get a reprieve when another year of production hit the order sheets . Then , during one fateful meeting with Seiko in Basel 2019 , I was dealt the death blow . I was notified that the iconic SKX , that had enjoyed production from mid-90 ’ s , was really being retired . It hit me like a hammer ! My store was moving a couple thousand units a year . It was my best-selling product , and without it , my business would surely suffer .
On that train ride from Basel back to Zurich , as I stared out the window , it hit me in a flash . I knew what my customer ’ s griped about with the SKX . Lack of hand-winding , no sapphire crystal , poor bracelet , aluminum bezel insert , the list went on . People were purchasing the SKX for years , and it had become the mod child of watch fanatics . Much like the Honda Civic of my day , the SKX had an entire eco-system of aftermarket parts sprout up around it . Not just better-looking parts , but better materials like sapphire , ceramic and solid steel bracelets .
My idea was , why not offer an SKX replacement , complete with all the modifications that people want . Not a modded SKX , but rather something built from the ground up to keep costs down . Well , that became the Islander , model ISL-02 , which is still in production today .
We ’ ve developed more than 150 different models at this point , with no sign of slowing . Every design we make has all the elements that my customers demand in their wristwatch . It ’ s very cliché , but because we are direct to consumer and we are one step from the manufacturer , we can offer amazing prices that the larger brands cannot , since there is not a heavy worldwide infrastructure to support . This past year I was happy to release my first ‘ Assembled in the USA ’ watches , built at the FTS facility in Fountain Hills , Arizona . This year will see more styles from them as well .
All of this would never have been possible if I hadn ’ t been listening to my customers for all those years . And not just listening , but acting on it and giving them what they want .
Imagine that , a company that listens to its customers and delivers . What a novel idea !
6 | AboutTime Magazine