Europa Star: Since stepping into the leadership role at Doxa, you’ve extended distribution to one region each year. Why take such an original approach when you could have opted for a global relaunch, when market conditions were perhaps more favourable?

Jan Edöcs: Because I knew exactly who I wanted to work with in each region… but they didn’t know it yet or perhaps weren’t ready. For example, we’re launching the brand in Japan this year, something we could have done three years ago but we’ve set out a strategy and are sticking to it. This may have caused some frustration, even pressure, but we’ve always been clear. The best partners aren’t necessarily the ones who are first in line. Patience is the key to building something solid. Take a partner such as Seddiqi in the Middle East, for example. We are well below their usual price range but we were able to convince them. They understood where we were coming from.

The Doxa SUB 300 in a 1967 Europa Star, with references to the Professional, Sharkhunter and SeaRaider versions.

How long before you finish this “world tour”?

Japan will be the last major hub. After that, we can start looking at smaller markets. We’ll shortly be opening in Taiwan and Vietnam. I’m aware that a traditional business model would be to open as many doors as possible, as quickly as possible, but we’ve stuck to our guns and it’s paying off. We’re growing at a time when the general trend is for the market to contract and we have full control over distribution. You won’t find a Doxa watch at a discounted price anywhere. Online sales are only through our own site. We don’t work with e-commerce platforms. Otherwise you’d already be seeing Doxa at 40% off, which would destroy everything we’ve done so far. Plus, we can use sales figures from our online platform to anticipate demand. Our prices range from CHF 1,000 to 5,000 but we have the same control over distribution as a high-end brand.

The new SUB 250T GMT

You say this strategy is paying off. Can you give an example?

We performed extremely well post-pandemic. Customers could walk out of one of these prestigious stores with a Doxa for CHF 1,500 when everyone else had wait lists. Another important point: we deliver inventory to our partners before we announce a new release so that, on the day of the launch, customers are certain to find the new model in-store. Retailers appreciate this way of working. It reinforces their confidence in the brand.

Are you ever tempted to move out of the SUB’s dive watch territory?

Never. We intend to stay in and around water. Don’t expect to see a Doxa pilot’s watch. We’ve worked hard these past five years and there is still a lot we can do with our SUB lines. A lot of people are only just discovering Doxa. It’s vital that we work on brand awareness. I’m more than happy to stay within a niche segment. I’d rather be first in my category, a tastemaker, than fifth in multiple categories.

How do you balance production volumes with brand equity?

Over the past five years, our annual growth has been stable at between 10% and 15%, including this year when others have seen a 30% drop. We could have grown in leaps and bounds but we prefer our strategy of small steps. We’ve never had an investment phase, we’ve always been profitable. Currently, we have 200 points of sale in our hubs and are still only halfway there. In the US, for example, we have 17 points of sale and could easily open another 30 but I’ve asked our subsidiary to only open ten. The best ones.

Not everyone appreciated our strategy to begin with. Certain retailers, who wanted to carry Doxa, were quite annoyed whereas our current partners are delighted with this strategy and the excellent sell-out. We could have gone ahead and opened doors left, right and centre, pushing sell-in, but would we still be here in five years’ time? You have to look beyond the short term and build for the long term.

The new SUB 200

Which are your key models? The backbone of the collection?

The SUB 300T performs well, especially in Asia, as does the 200T. We’ve introduced smaller case sizes, in line with demand, such as the 40mm GMT. At CHF 1,090 for a mechanical watch, the SUB 200 is our volume piece, the one that attracts a new generation of buyers. We assemble in-house and work with suppliers such as Sellita. Developing our own movement would make no sense as it would add too much to the end price. We don’t sell complicated watches. We sell solid, functional watches.

What about the Chinese market?

It’ll be the last market we open. There would have to be a major social and cultural shift for masses of Chinese to start swimming and wearing dive watches.

What are your long-term volume objectives?

We could take production to 30,000 watches a year. Currently it’s half that. At 400 points of sale we’ll be in a comfortable position and will probably even have to slow down a little. Right now, it’s a win-win situation whereas if we were to increase production to 100,000 units and the market went into crisis, we’d be taking a big risk. As it is, we’re in control. Sometimes people ask how we manage to sell watches at these prices. I tell them that ever since Walca began as a private label in 1976, before Doxa relaunched, offering well-priced watches is something we know how to do!