After first reviving classic watch brand Lebois & Co in 2014, a second revival brand suddenly joined it a few years later: Airain. The man daring these adventures is Dutchman Tom van Wijlick
Text: Gerben Bijpost
The market is already so crowded. So why start a watch brand yourself?
To fund my watchmaking hobby, I started buying and selling Swiss mechanical watches over the internet in 2012. That went so well that, with a business partner, I opened several online boutiques for independent Swiss watch brands. As fun and interesting as that was; when I sat down with those brands, the penny dropped. I wanted to be on the other side of the table. I wanted to own a watch brand myself. Because it's great to make people happy with a product. And how great is it if you have developed the product yourself...
And then came Airain. Wasn't one brand challenging enough?
It certainly was, and so now we need to distribute our attention efficiently among the brands without shortchanging them. But there are too many 'historically relevant' watch brands to limit yourself to one. That would be a waste. So that's why we are going for a family of those kinds of watch brands. We are bringing them together in one company, hoping to gain some efficiencies at the back end. Think procurement but also interchangeability of straps, for example. By also being transparent and clear about it to our customers, we see that people who previously bought a Lebois & Co now also buy Airain and vice versa.
How would you characterise each brand in one sentence?
Lebois & Co is an elegant brand with understated watch models, which people like to have in their collection for both 'dressy occasions' and easy-to-wear everyday pieces.
Airain is a bit tougher, with the first model being the reissue of the legendary Type 20 that was officially used by the French army in the 1950s and 1960s as a reliable time-measuring device on the wrist of its airmen.
The price segment in which your brands operate is crowded. How do you make sure to get noticed?
Our strategy is very simple: we offer more than our competitors for the same money - or even less money. In other words, we create watches that offer great value for money, i.e. at the lower end of the market in terms of price, while the finish, performance and specifications are more at the upper end. A good example is the recently re-released Airain Type 20. For €2600, we offer a high-quality mechanical chronograph with flyback complication. Competitors are €1,000 to sometimes €13,000 more expensive.
Who are currently your customers and where do they come from?
Most of our customers already have established watches. Oris, IWC, Longines, Tudor, but also Rolex and Omega. Most of them have in common that they are enthusiasts as well as connoisseurs, which is a good sign. Most of them live in the USA, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, Switzerland and the rest of Europe.
Do you think direct contact with your customers is important?
Absolutely! Of course, this does not mean that we do not also work through distribution or retail channels, but interacting directly with customers is very instructive and interesting. Indeed, without this direct contact, we would not have been able to carry out our 'CoLAB project'. Several thousand votes were cast on the different models and options we proposed. The result: the beautiful Heritage Chronograph, a much sought-after reissue of the Lebois & Co chronographs from the 1940s.
How do you envision both brands in 10 years' time?
We want to be able to develop both brands to the point where they have their own standalone collections. Large enough to serve a nice group of enthusiasts. www.leboisandco.com and www.airain.com
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