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Norcane, a watchmaker owned by a Swiss family, has announced that it has partnered with former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville as the brand prepares to enter the UK market.
Norqain’s CEO Ben Küffer confirmed that Neville will be sitting on the board of directors of the company, chaired by Mark Kuffer’s father. The appointment follows a “significant” but private investment in watchmakers. Neville, 50, is expected to play an active role in the UK strategy of business, and according to Küffer, he has already participated in budget meetings and conversations with retailers along with newly appointed UK managing director Martyn Jenkins.
“We don’t need a boy on the poster, or someone who just got on the sign,” said Cuffer, 37. “I’m looking for someone who actually has a network. We’re very fortunate as he and Gary are already an experienced entrepreneur.”
Neville said that a merciless group with hospitality, media, property, education and sports ventures has recently become interested in watches, but was drawn to the company’s independence and challenger status. “Sometimes people are presented with an Excel spreadsheet that shows a return to the bottom and if it shows a good return, they’ll invest in it,” Neville said. “I’m not like that. For me, it has to be something different. It has to be destructive and I have to be passionate about it.”
Neville co-owns the Salford City Football Club with his former teammates and is also involved in the £120 million St. Michael’s development program in Manchester along with US private equity firm KKR. “I like the challenge of setting up something from scratch,” he said. “Obviously, Gary Neville won’t set up his own watch company, but this is pretty much the same in a few ways.”
Co-founded in 2018 by former Swiss professional ice hockey player Mark Strait, Norkaine has a history of partnering with sports figures. Last year, tennis player Stanislas Wawrinka invested in the brand and joined ice hockey player Roman Joshi and skier Tina Wheelerzer. But Neville was the first partner to join the board. Küffer said the marketing influence that incorporates such well-known names “feels like a copy-paste success story that allows networks to be built very quickly in Switzerland and can bring to other markets, but we need the right people.”
Jenkins said that Norqain raised SFR7MN ($7.92 million) in the funding round two years ago.
Swiss Tennis player Stanis Las Wawrinka invested in Norkan last year © Norqainliechtenstein skier Tina Wee Azar is also a partner of Swiss watch manufacturer © Norqain
Norqain focuses on lightweight watches that incorporate their own unique composite material, making sports the brand’s main story. It sponsored the marathons in Berlin, Zurich and Geneva, and last month announced it had signed it as the official watch partner for the Swiss National Football Team.
Neville’s introduction arrived through Hollywood’s talent agent Creative Artist Agency, but Keufer saw opportunities beyond sports and cited Neville’s experience in media production and hospitality, as well as charity events and initiatives.
“We’re like an entertainment company if you do that,” Kuffer said. “In addition, we are looking at his potential at the hotel and see what he can do there.”
Norqain has grown rapidly since its launch, and has attempted the unusual challenge of entering the mainstream watch industry on a large scale. According to Küffer, 10,000 to 15,000 watches are produced per year at an average selling price of 4,500 SFR.
“Of course, the industry is very difficult (now),” he said. “However, there is no (revenue) in Asia, so the impact of China’s slowdown will be zero.” Küffer, who said volume rose 12% in the same period, set a goal of tripling the brand’s current revenues by 2028. “From a distribution perspective, we want to be in 500 to 700 stores,” he says. “We are in 300 stores today. We expect the average price to rise to SFR5,000. We hope that the bracket will be between SFR3,000 and SFR7,000, but today it is between SFR2,000 and SFR6,000.”
Küffer said Norqain, which plans to open offices in both the UK and Europe next year, is targeting future growth without a round of funding. “The UK is such a huge market, so you have to be muscular and say, ‘I’m ready to come,'” Küffer said. “And when you come, you need to bring some money to the game, otherwise you’re not going far, and now I think we’re fully prepared for that.”
