“The idea for the company came to me at a time when I was short on cash as a student,” he said. Walton shared.
While studying for a master’s degree in business administration, Silas Walton had to do an unpaid internship at a private equity firm. This period spanned five months from late 2013 to 2014. A year earlier, he had purchased a Harrods watch at a luxury London department store, and now economic pressures make him feel the need. had to sell it to earn money to live on.
But, the young man soon realized how difficult the process of selling a used luxury watch was. You have only two options: Try to post it on eBay and continuously provide verification documents to potential buyers to prove it is a real watch; or go to a traditional watch dealer and accept to lose 60% of the profit.
This led Walton to the idea of an online watch reseller, which would provide a seamless system for customers to buy and sell through the platform. At first, it was just a line of thought written on paper. But quickly, the idea grew until he did months of market research and came up with a complete business plan.
“During my internship, I came in contact with a lot of people who wanted to take control of their industry and innovate in that space. Exposure to those initiatives gave me the confidence to start a business. start your own business”.
That was also the time when he was about to finish his master’s program and decided to cancel all interviews for future jobs to start his own business.
Silas Walton, CEO of A Collected Man, sold a Philippe Dufour watch online for $7.63 million.
The model he considered then was to buy watches for online auction on a customer-friendly platform that was accessible to people all over the world. And quite a surprise when a family friend happened to be selling watches. Walton wanted to show the person his idea, but first he decided to try presenting it to an online viewing forum.
The comments from the forum completely tore up Walton’s idea. But one user gave him specific and helpful advice. It is recommended to consider consignment, as well-known watch sellers often eliminate this option.
Selling the watch on consignment means that the owner can give their watch to you, a third party, who will sell the watch to them for the best possible price and receive a percentage of the profits, currently now usually 15% on A Collected Man. And benefits for both sides will make it get the best selling price.
Walton decided to turn the idea around completely and took another month to focus his business plan on consignment, before presenting it to a family friend.
This watch seller is a businessman, also a watch enthusiast, who invested Walton £50,000 (about $67,500). This was his initial funding to launch A Collected Man, a platform that sells and consigns used watches. The watch seller, now an investor, also gave him £10,000 (about $13,400) watches, watches that he could never sell and which are gathering dust. .
“He said whatever I do on it is something I can put in an equity stake with him.” Walton shared.
And he sold them all within a month on eBay and made a pretty decent profit. Later, Walton persuaded a few others to consign the goods to him. And the snowball started rolling from there.
The market and demand for used luxury goods is huge.
The business started at the end of 2014, with the initial target of just the mid-range market. Walton doesn’t go straight into selling £100,000 watches, Rolexes or Omega Speedmasters. Because these types of watches are so common and not so rare, they are competitive and have relatively slim profit margins.
About six months after officially starting the business, a client consigned him an independent watchmaker’s watch, worth around £60,000. After selling it, the profit margin is almost 7 times higher than normal sales. And because it’s on deposit, there’s no cash risk.
“The profits are clear on consignment of these rare, high-end timepieces by independent watchmakers. This is unprecedented in the industry. Six years ago, if you bought these watches, you will lose money”, he shared. “I’ve done my own research and understand the risks well, but since I’m not swayed by the industry outlook, I can also see a clear investment opportunity with great returns.”
Thus, the model continued to be developed and its reputation quickly gained confidence in the independent watchmaking industry. More and more people want to sell these products on consignment, from collectors or directly from the watchmakers themselves.
“Our customers are very security sensitive because they may be heads of industry or people in the film and music industries. They are concerned about security or exposure risks. identity. Trust has become an important part of our business, especially as we work with more notable clients.”
The model turned profitable, and Walton reinvested everything in the business, capturing market share and diversifying its product range.
Of course, he also faced a lot of resistance from those in the industry. Because at that time, Walton was in his 20s, and a complete stranger to the watch business.
But the demand for online retailers for used luxury goods is undeniable, and they don’t care about these factors either. Walton’s platform is the perfect way to connect independent watchmakers living in the Swiss Alps or the Isle of Man with collectors and aficionados who are eager to invest.
About three years ago, A Collected Man received a $1 million private investment from a regular client. The more the snowball rolls, the bigger it gets.
A Collected Man’s Instagram page.
Walton started using Instagram to increase sales and gain community attention. Social media was quick to show its power. He can now sell a new watch on Instagram for £50,000 within 20 minutes of it being posted.
“We started selling more than £1m a month, culminating in our record sales this past August.” Young CEO said.
In August, a watch by Philippe Dufour, one of the independent watchmakers with whom Walton established a very early relationship, sold on his website for $7.63 million. This is the highest-priced public watch sale by an independent watchmaker.
“I’ve grown to love and appreciate watches and watchmaking more and more. But in the end it was the market that drew me in. And I’ll never change that, because it means I don’t. avoid causing disruption in the industry”, Walton said.
And taking these risks has brought A Collected Man to where it is now, with $21 million in sales in 2020 and 2021, just seven years after starting the business.
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