Is this a Korean watch Brand? Cool!Every year, there are several events where wristwatch brands from all over the world gather to exhibit their products. The two most notable events are Baselworld (held in Switzerland; the largest watch-related exhibition in the world that attracts most of the largest and highest-quality major watch brands worldwide), and Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair (held in Hong Kong; attracts mostly new brands and medium-sized brands). In 2012, I visited the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair as a buyer importing watches from overseas brands and retailing them in Korea. Back then, I remember making a resolution. ‘We should create our own brand and show it to the world!’Six years could be considered a long time, or a short time depending on the way you look at it. I experienced and learned a lot over the six years. I even launched Harriot in 2016 over that time span. Finally, in 2018, the Korea Watch and Clock Industry Cooperative assigned a booth for the first time to Harriot (booth no. 3E-A07) at the ‘Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair,’ giving it the opportunity to showcase its products on the world stage. To make its booth as attractive as possible, we used photos of Yanghwa Daegyo Bridge, the Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul City Hall, and others that inspired Harriot products. We also decided to build our own display fixture to showcase our watches. We studied and researched information on different furnishings to create something that had a hint of Korean style in it, yet did not appear too tacky. "How about using small tables like this? I think it might be perfect if we change the design a little.” As we were looking through images of traditional Korean furniture, we found a design that could be perfect for the showcase. Based on the design, we added hinges and butterfly-like objects to produce a final layout. After several attempts, we were able to finish the display fixture in time and fly it to Hong Kong. Is this a Korean watch Brand? Cool!When an overseas buyer complimented us for the display fixture, the concerns and doubts we had before boarding the plane all melted away in an instant. We started out ambitiously, but we still have a long way to go. The sheer size of the global marketplace and disparity between Harriot and other world-class brands were overwhelming. I was confident I had heard of most watch brands at least once, yet there were plenty of brands I had never seen before. Not only that, there were a lot of companies with great branding strategies which felt intimidating in a way. Frankly, buyers don’t pay a lot of attention to a new and emerging brand participating in the Fair for the first time. They might be thinking, ‘I bought products from this brand, but what if they go bankrupt next year?’ or ’I must be wary because this brand hasn’t proved itself.’ But if the brand participates the next year, and the year after that, they may start wondering,‘Hey, I think I saw this brand last year. I think they were here the year before that as well. They must be growing steadily.’ Looking at Harriot, buyers must be thinking the same way we thought of other brands when we were participating in these Fairs as buyers. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so from 2018 and onwards, we hope to show buyers that we are indeed growing into a stronger brand. We want to slowly bring Korean watches back to life. I would like to introduce you to someone who has helped us immensely.
