The luxury watch industry is so dynamic and companies must adapt to the changes in consumer behaviour or run the risk of becoming irrelevant. Surviving and striving through the past three years, especially during the pandemic, is a challenge. Things are not always easy, but for Niko Kwan and Alan Soong, success always comes to those who embrace challenges. As many of us already know, a luxury watch is a sign of excellent craftsmanship. Luxury watches have often served as a status symbol for many, many years, often being a key indicator of a person’s taste levels and wealth.
For Niko Kwan, the trend of elder people having luxury watches is no longer the current trend. She believes it is considered a type of investment if a young man can afford to get a luxury watch. With their interest and passion in this industry, Niko and Alan changed their career paths from property agents to selling luxury timepieces.
“Our customers’ age range from 24 to 70 years old, many of them take it as an investment and saving as it is an asset,” says the founder of Kontime Luxury Watch.
Demand for luxury watches on the rise
A few months after renting the first shop at Berjaya Times Square, the government imposed Movement Control Order (MCO). Kontime had ordered more than 100 pieces of luxury watches so they were left with no other choice but to start selling the watches online via Facebook live. It was a baby step for Kontime since they were new in the industry.
“Despite during the MCO, our sales were climbing up slowly as we gain trust from our clients at a slow pace. Of course, there are some fussy clients but we have always heard our customers’ needs and delivered the goods timely,” she tells WargaBiz.
According to Niko, she said persistence is the key to success in the business. She had to reply to all the messages on WhatsApp and Facebook every single day and night back then while also juggling her responsibilities as a mother.
Reasonable is the key
There were times when the watches they bought to resell were sold at a higher market price, but a few months later the market price dropped when the customer enquired.
“We have to follow and sell the watches at the current market price and be reasonable and treat every client fairly. To some people, maybe we are lucky that we get good clients and the business blooms. Till today, we have opened more than 6 branches despite the difficult times, but we are striving really hard and working on it to make everything works for us,” she adds.
“Usually, we will collect a 10% deposit from the clients when they confirm the item, and we will make sure to deliver it within 7 days. We always prefer to deal at the shop as the customer can feel more secure too,” she clarifies.
She also shared that it was really hard to train staff as every individual is different, especially when it comes to dealing with luxury watches. “We had faced problems where our staff betrayed us, our nature of business deals with money and authentic watches, if one’s was seduced by the luxury life and took the watches away, it would be trouble for us,” she shares.
Kontime eyeing future investment and sale opportunities
“To date, we have more than 6 Kontime branches including 1 branch in Hong Kong with 20 plus staff, and more than 20 agents who work together as a team to make Kontime a successful business. Over the years, I’ve trained many of them to learn how to authenticate the watches and bags themselves and the important notes when dealing with clients. I will always select a staff that has good character and attitude and train them well.”
When the opportunity comes, Niko and the founders will venture into the car industry, such as luxury cars and sports cars.
“This will be our plan for the next 5 years, and we are planning to expand into the luxury cars and sports cars industry. We hope to get a bigger place in KL so we can have a hub for all our clients to visit and choose a bag, watch, or car that they like,” she ends.
Kontime Luxury Watch
Address: Berjaya Times Square, 0621, 6th Floor, 1,
Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Facebook: kontimekl
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