How CW became a £100m brand

Masterwoodsman · Post by **Masterwoodsman** » Sun Jul 07, 2024 2:06 pm

Do you think if Mike France cashed in his percentage and called it a day the company would suffer. He does certainly seem the driving force and face of Christopher Ward. There's talk of him retiring but would CW lose it's way....thoughts??

nbg · Post by **nbg** » Sun Jul 07, 2024 2:21 pm

Masterwoodsman wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 2:06 pm Do you think if Mike France cashed in his percentage and called it a day the company would suffer. He does certainly seem the driving force and face of Christopher Ward. There's talk of him retiring but would CW lose it's way....thoughts??

Do you have a link to an article(s) with talk of him retiring please?

Neil

Masterwoodsman · Post by **Masterwoodsman** » Sun Jul 07, 2024 4:08 pm

nbg wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 2:21 pm
Masterwoodsman wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 2:06 pm Do you think if Mike France cashed in his percentage and called it a day the company would suffer. He does certainly seem the driving force and face of Christopher Ward. There's talk of him retiring but would CW lose it's way....thoughts??
Do you have a link to an article(s) with talk of him retiring please?

Neil

I watch many you tube videos and I'm sure it was of one of those, I was quite surpised myself and the host joked about how he can afford to retire as he's loaded. I'll see if I can fund it.
p.s I'm not making it up if that's what you're implying

nbg · Post by **nbg** » Sun Jul 07, 2024 4:41 pm

^^^ Not implying you are making it up. It’s just that I like to checks sources of information, before making a judgement of whether I believe it or not.

After all much of what folk read on social media (and certain print media) is often incorrect, or deliberate misinformation!

For what it’s worth, I doubt Mike F will exit any time soon, if himself and Peter E want to walk away with a fortune. Private equity investors are not renowned for giving a good deal to founders, when they invest. IIRC the share agreement when they invested is available for anyone to read, if they are so inclined.

Neil

JAFO · Post by **JAFO** » Sun Jul 07, 2024 5:01 pm

Masterwoodsman wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 4:08 pm
nbg wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 2:21 pm
Masterwoodsman wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 2:06 pm Do you think if Mike France cashed in his percentage and called it a day the company would suffer. He does certainly seem the driving force and face of Christopher Ward. There's talk of him retiring but would CW lose it's way....thoughts??
Do you have a link to an article(s) with talk of him retiring please?

Neil
I watch many you tube videos and I'm sure it was of one of those, I was quite surpised myself and the host joked about how he can afford to retire as he's loaded. I'll see if I can fund it.
p.s I'm not making it up if that's what you're implying

Well it's not unreasonable. The right strategy is to build a strong team who can maintain the progress. It's when, not if Mike retires. It comes to all of us.

I know there's Bremont aficionados here, and they've had to cope with changes. I've seen interesting YTs from Mike at This Watch, That Watch, and also a big Bremont fan, Watch Enthusiast London.

The issue at Bremont appears to be repositioning the brand at a lower price point, from what I can tell. If anything, CW are moving the other way.

Masterwoodsman · Post by **Masterwoodsman** » Sun Jul 07, 2024 5:20 pm

JAFO wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 5:01 pm
Masterwoodsman wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 4:08 pm
nbg wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 2:21 pm
Do you have a link to an article(s) with talk of him retiring please?

Neil
I watch many you tube videos and I'm sure it was of one of those, I was quite surpised myself and the host joked about how he can afford to retire as he's loaded. I'll see if I can fund it.
p.s I'm not making it up if that's what you're implying
Well it's not unreasonable. The right strategy is to build a strong team who can maintain the progress. It's when, not if Mike retires. It comes to all of us.

I know there's Bremont aficionados here, and they've had to cope with changes. I've seen interesting YTs from Mike at This Watch, That Watch, and also a big Bremont fan, Watch Enthusiast London.

The issue at Bremont appears to be repositioning the brand at a lower price point, from what I can tell. If anything, CW are moving the other way.

Maybe the issue at Bremont is watching a fellow British online watch supplier suddenly starting to rub shoulders with some swiss big hitters but still at a competitive price point. Maybe it's CW's success that has made Bremonts hierarchy to reconsider their pricing strategy...

JAFO · Post by **JAFO** » Sun Jul 07, 2024 8:38 pm

@Masterwoodsman

I have always been deterred by the price point of Bremont, as I rarely buy watches at that sort of price point -say over £2000. However, assuming that the price point reflects a certain level of workmanship, then I don't see how you can both maintain the level.of workmanship while reducing the price. Maybe there are some other business reasons.

So maybe CWs success simply reflects a gradual addition of a few watches made to a higher standard and selling at a higher price point, attracting new customers, while reassuring existing customers.

The Watch Enthusiast London has clearly bought a lot of higher priced Bremont watches, and maybe will be disappointed to see a repositioning of Bremont. Mike of This Watch That Watch, is I think just disappointed with the repositioned offerings. There's clearly more going on as at least one of the brothers appears to not be part of Bremont now.

Overall I think CWs strategy of gradually moving to a more luxurious watch standard is likely to prove a better one.

Masterwoodsman · Post by **Masterwoodsman** » Mon Jul 08, 2024 11:17 am

JAFO wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 8:38 pm @Masterwoodsman

I have always been deterred by the price point of Bremont, as I rarely buy watches at that sort of price point -say over £2000. However, assuming that the price point reflects a certain level of workmanship, then I don't see how you can both maintain the level.of workmanship while reducing the price. Maybe there are some other business reasons.

So maybe CWs success simply reflects a gradual addition of a few watches made to a higher standard and selling at a higher price point, attracting new customers, while reassuring existing customers.

The Watch Enthusiast London has clearly bought a lot of higher priced Bremont watches, and maybe will be disappointed to see a repositioning of Bremont. Mike of This Watch That Watch, is I think just disappointed with the repositioned offerings. There's clearly more going on as at least one of the brothers appears to not be part of Bremont now.

Overall I think CWs strategy of gradually moving to a more luxurious watch standard is likely to prove a better one.

Great post, wasn't aware of one of the brothers flying the nest.....that screams red flag already. I don't think current Bremont customers are gonna be too happy that their so called prestigious brand may not be quite as prestigious as they thought. With future new models at a cheaper price point coming to the market, expect the market to be potentially flooded with used models as they will most certainly devalue in worth. I agree CW seem to have their marketing strategy spot on, keeping all watch lovers happy at different price points whilst slowly incorporating higher priced time pieces that offer something unique and eye catching.

jtc · Post by **jtc** » Mon Jul 08, 2024 12:02 pm

^^ I think both brothers have moved on from Bremont. There's entirely new leadership now.

JAFO · Post by **JAFO** » Mon Jul 08, 2024 12:50 pm

I've just looked at the CW accounts at companies house. They seem much healthier than the last time I looked some years ago. There no P&L account filed, so it's hard to gauge the turnover.

Interestingly there's a large bank balance and a large deferred income in the liabilities, which I take to be payments and deposits against future deliveries.

Maybe £100m is a bit high, but it looks healthy.

Post by **Bahnstormer_vRS** » Mon Jul 08, 2024 5:28 pm

@Masterwoodsman @JAFO

Rather than cluttering up this topic with discussions about Bremount, it might be worth reading through an extensive topic with a mine of information and discussion from a couple of months ago;- New Bremont Logo and then continuing the discussion there if you wish.

Thanks.

Guy

Caller · Post by **Caller** » Mon Jul 08, 2024 5:47 pm

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 5:28 pm @Masterwoodsman @JAFO

Rather than cluttering up this topic with discussions about Bremount, it might be worth reading through an extensive topic with a mine of information and discussion from a couple of months ago;- New Bremont Logo and then continuing the discussion there if you wish.

Thanks.

Guy

Might correct some dumb misconceptions as well!

maclink · Post by **maclink** » Tue Jul 16, 2024 8:47 pm

Nice article. Some good information there about how CW garnered its expertise. They certainly capitalised on opportunities previous connections offered. They also had vision and seem to continue to.

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