iW Magazine Spring 2020 | Page 45

iW INTERVIEW KEVIN KOUCH, BALL WATCH EXECUTIVE Which Ball Watch collections sell the best in the United States? The Engineer Hydrocarbon, the Engineer, and the Fireman collections are the best sellers here. Does this differ from sales abroad? Yes, in some ways. In Japan, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, the bestsellers are the Trainmaster, the Engineer and the Fireman collections. What role does the Ball Watch Explorer’s Club play in drawing consumers? The Explorer’s Club plays a supporting role by attracting new consumers to Ball Watches. We love sharing their stories, as these are people who actualize their dreams by taking on significant challenges while striving to achieve their goals. Ball Watch aligns with these individuals based on philosophy and brand image and we respectfully support them in a way as not to take advantage of what they do. Do you see Ball competing with smartwatches? No, I do not see Ball competing with smartwatches. As a matter of fact, we do not compare. We are not at all vested in connected technology but in the “savoir-faire” of mechanical watches. How does Ball Watch handle online sales? We understood quite early that we had to adapt our distribution to the modern world by being active online. It was and still is a big challenge, as this also means being in direct contact with customers, which involves new business systems. But it’s been extremely beneficial and we feel much closer to our clients. This is a great way to know what people expect. Online sales do not mean that Ball is taking away all retail shop businesses. Quite the contrary, it provides another level of support through innovative product launches and exclusive distribution in which everyone benefits: the manufacture, the retail storeowner and the client. Why should a collector buy a Ball watch as opposed to another watch at about the same price point from a highly marketed Swiss or Japanese brand? In my opinion, Ball offers a better value for the money in terms of the watch itself. You get more than what you pay for in terms of quality, specifications, and constant innovations such as implementing tritium gas tubes inside the sapphire turning bezel of our Engineer Hydrocarbon and Engineer Master series. Can you offer our readers a preview of any upcoming Ball watches set to debut later this year? Yes, as a sneak peek, we will be launching our latest DeepQUEST II in June or July exclusively for our retail partners available only in store. Additionally, we have many projects in the pipeline that involve our in-house movement 80-hour power reserve COSC movement—the BALL RRM7309-C. We will be adding more features to it, so stay tuned! Overall, there will be more exciting products to come by the end of the year! Left: Ball Watch Order of Railway Conductors, No. 307412, Series VIll, circa 1893. SPRING 2020 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 45