In June, I had Justin Reis, founder and CEO of Watchbox on my on my ‘Panic’ podcast. You can read and listen here.
WatchBox is the world’s leading platform for the buying, selling, and trading of pre-owned luxury watches, with offices in the U.S., Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, and Dubai.
The luxury watch industry is at the massive intersection of my favorite thesis as fashion meets technology meets culture and yes a beneficiary of the unintended consequences of endless money printing.
I love watches and the company so we put together a SPV (special purpose vehicle) to invest some personal money along with some friends in their later stage round.
The business continued to grow fast over the summer and yesterday they announced the closing of a fresh $165 million round that includes such luminaries as ….ME, Michael Jordan, Chris Paul and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
None of these superstars called me to ask for my opinion so I assume they listened to my podcast with Justin back in June.
You are welcome MJ.
Anyways…
In an interview with CNBC on Monday, WatchBox CEO Justin Reis said the company is on pace for $300 million in net revenue this year, and could seek an IPO in the future.
WatchBox has an inventory valued at $150 million. Rather than serving as a marketplace for peer-to-peer transactions, the company buys and trades luxury watches from sellers. It then authenticates the products and resells them to collectors and other buyers, capturing transaction fees in the process.
“It’s no different than dealing with Goldman Sachs,” Reis said of the platform. “We have client advisors that you speak to and also manage your portfolio of watches.”
“In terms of size and scale, if you look at us in the market, we’re probably the largest platform in terms of revenue,” Reis said, adding WatchBox surpassed $1 billion in total revenue since its creation.
WatchBox plans to use the cash to expand its digital platform and open collector lounges in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Dallas. International WatchBox locations include Dubai, Hong Kong and Switzerland, and Reis said the firm wants to reach 40 markets over the next three years.
I am a big fan of Justin’s retail lounge concept and can’t wait for the roll out later this year.
