The Skagen Watches Began In New York

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:34:34 EST

Coming to New York to represent another watch company found two immigrants marketing Danish watches. It was original an expansion of another brand, but it became much more than what each of the immigrants expected. The Danish brand was nice to have and that was what these two found out quickly, but Skagen watches were soon to begin.

The designs were liked, but just because of the brand and logo and this was not enough to sell in North America. Americans were looking for more than name recognition; they were looking for something distinctive and reliable as well as being priced within reason.

The two decided to choose four designs of the Danish company and brand them under the Skagen name. The initial order was for approximately 800 time-pieces and they quickly sold out. After another order from the Danish company was sold just as quick, the Skagen company began to expand.

The couple worked on 30 more models and designs for the next year. The two had a distinct idea of what Americans may buy and were looking to purchase. These models were designed with this in mind and it worked. The models began to sell and the company was slowly beginning to grow.

A Scandinavian design and quality was what brought these Skagen watch models to the attention to the public. Along with this was the price of each piece. They were priced in order to sell to everyone and then a catalog publisher was accidentally introduced into the organization. The American publication placed a watch on the back of their catalogue and the Skagen brand was launch into another category.

From their New York apartment, the couple earned a staggering $800,000 from the catalogue advertising. Every bit of stock was sold and additional orders had to be filled. The catalog watch was a woman's designed that the immigrants from Denmark had developed themselves.

With this success, the designers approached Bloomingdale's and convinced them to place their line in the store on a trial basis. By the end of the first day, all the watches were sold and Bloomingdale's had to make a rapid repeat order. This launched the brand and made it one of the new stars in the watch market by 1998. The next market would be the world, which included Denmark.

The Denmark office was launched and several dozen stores were opened. The company then expanded to Germany, England and other European nation. With over 250 designs and 5,000 stores, the Skagen brand is now being sold throughout the known world. The little investment and the idea of the original four designs made this into a worldwide company that continues to expand.

The little apartment where the first designs were launched from has turned into a 170 employees, all being involved in designing and developing new models. The passion of just two individuals has made it back to their home country of Denmark and now the rest of the world.

The first goals of the company were to make unique designs and models at a good price. These ideas have not stopped and the mission has not changed. Not only are Skagen mens wristwatches nice to have, but they are being worn by millions of people around the world.

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The Skagen Watches Began In New York