Shinola Aims Younger With Lower Prices
● Fresh off a round of layoffs, the brand launches a range of colorful watches that it hopes will attract a new consumer base.
Shinola is hoping that a lower price point will lure the interest of new, fashionforward consumers.
This week, the Detroit-based watch and lifestyle brand will launch its new Detrola collection — a line of colorful, limited-edition watches that are priced approximately $100 less than the label’s opening price point.
Detrola, with its colorful resin bezels and contrast tone silicone straps, are produced in limited quantities of up to 250 per style. Shinola’s classic watch styles, by comparison, have long been designed with neutral color tones and thick, leather straps. The Detrola watch, like the rest of Shinola’s timepiece range, is assembled in Detroit of components sourced around the world, including a Swiss-made movement.
“We wanted to create a vehicle that gave us more color options and add a younger story,” Shinola’s creative director, Daniel Caudill, said of the new line. “We are playing with different materials but still wanted to keep that stainless steel core base. The whole thing is that it appeals to a younger consumer with more color, more of a fashion point-of-view but also a price point that is a little more accessible,” he added.
The Detrola will be priced at $395, while Shinola’s “core is in the $550 to $700 range — there is a significant departure there without significant departure from quality which is very important to us,” explained chief executive officer Tom Lewand.
“I think the Detrola platform allows us to do a lot of different things, to tell a lot of different stories. It lends itself to partnership with other brands. We have only scratched the surface of what the Detrola can be,” Lewand added.
Beginning Sept. 25, Neiman Marcus will sell the watches with a one-month wholesale exclusive. Wholesale partners including Nordstrom and various independent retailers have signed on to sell the collection thereafter.
The Detrola’s launch comes on the heels of WWD’s report detailing layoffs, store closures and cost-cutting measures at Shinola headquarters in Detroit. Lewand declined to comment when pressed on how the Detrola collection could help initiate a turn-around.