At the age of 18 and 19, Joses and Jarod Ng started to get involved in the luxury watch industry respectively.
They eventually co-founded Look at capital, It is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Palarian Holdings, a private investment company.
In the months since entering the retail market, Watch Capital has grown rapidly, with revenue exceeding S$15 million.
In this interview, the Wu brothers shared with us how they developed this company that was once a sideline of Carousell into a seven-figure luxury watch business.
They became bosses in their 20s
After graduating from Raffles College, Jarod and Joses both went overseas for further studies. They went to Concord College in the UK and then studied law at Durham University.
Jarod, 24, graduated from Durham University with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons), while Joses, 22, is still in his final year of law school.
Jarod is currently the executive chairman and chief executive officer of Pallarian Holdings, responsible for ensuring the company’s growth.
On the other hand, Joses serves as the executive director and president of Pallarian Holdings and is responsible for overseeing the company’s future expansion.
“It all started when we were young. Our father would take us to various watch boutiques and share his passion for watches with us. The passion for watches was finally passed on to us,” Joses said.
The brothers used their savings of S$50,000 to start their luxury watch business, and their father invested more than S$1 million.
Founded in September 2020, Watch Capital is the culmination of a shared passion for luxury watches. It specializes in the full range of purchase, sale and transaction of luxury watches, including valuation and polishing services.
In particular, it sells “rare watches that are hard to find in retail stores”.
Watch Capital stocks a variety of luxury watches from 11 different brands including Rolex, Cartier and Patek Philippe, with prices ranging from S$5,000 to S$149,000.
From online to offline
As early as 2018, Watch Capital started very humble as a small business on Carousell, with an average monthly income of S$80,000.
Platforms such as Carousell and Facebook Market or Groups allow us to enter a place where individuals can easily connect and communicate with each other-whether it is buying, selling or trading.
The early difficulty of trading on these platforms lies in trust and credibility, because not many people are willing to buy such expensive goods from these platforms. Therefore, it will take a long time for our praise to be established on Carousell and Facebook.
– Joses Ng, co-founder of Watch Capital
Another problem with online transactions is that they often encounter “sneaky” buyers, or buyers who fail to show up at the prescribed time and place for meeting. They also found that trading large-value watches in public is risky.
These prompted them to move from online to offline, and set up physical exhibition halls. Considering the uncertainty of the Covid-19 situation, they seriously considered this, but in any case “achieved a leap of faith.”
They finally opened their first showroom at 111 Somerset, Orchard Road in February 2021.
We decided to open a physical store to better serve our customers and give them a suitable place and environment to watch our watches. We also want to take Watch Capital to a new level by opening a showroom, so that we can develop the brand and increase sales.
Despite the launch of our showroom during the pandemic, given our strong customer base (and digital marketing) before opening and the increase in individuals buying luxury watches, we are not worried.
– Joses Ng, co-founder of Watch Capital
They refused to disclose the source of their luxury watches, but shared that they also accept buying and trade-in.
Watch Capital is now fully profitable, generating more than S$10.5 million in revenue within four months of the opening of the showroom.
Six months later, they “managed to reach an income of S$15 million” and sold about 70 to 80 watches each month.
Customer is king
Given the impact of Covid-19 on the retail industry, it emphasized the importance of having an online store. However, I still believe that retail stores are something that today’s society has become accustomed to.
Customers not only pay for goods, but also for retail experience and customer service, especially when buying luxury goods.
– Joses Ng, co-founder of Watch Capital
He added that they attach great importance to customer service and always maintain a “non-judgmental approach” when providing services to customers.
Investing in luxury watches is a risky thing, and it is easy to be overwhelmed by existing options, which is why Watch Capital provides personalized advice.
In addition, the brothers’ rich experience as watch lovers and distributors themselves gave them extra knack for matching unique tastes with perfect watches.
“Customer service plays a very important role in maintaining business in the long-term, so professionalism and service are the top priorities,” Josees emphasized.
With such a strong customer concept, it is no wonder that they have accumulated a huge customer base.exist Instagram With this alone, they have gained 13,000 followers (and are still increasing).
When sharing future plans, he revealed that they plan to set up a head office next year and two more showrooms in the next few years to better serve customers.
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Featured image source: Watch Capital
