I had the pleasure of meeting The Orbita Road Show on November 2nd when it arrived on 4th Avenue in front of Seattle’s World Lux showroom at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. The 24-foot long trailer is outfitted to resemble a fine New York 5th Avenue jewelry showroom and is gorgeously replete with custom cherry-wood shelves and cabinetry, deep plush carpet, a huge plasma video display, and the full line of Orbita’s American-made Watchwinders and Watch storage products.

Along for the ride was National Sales Manager Donna Conklin and Customer Service Representative and Roadshow Manager Kevin Williams. Their personable manner and extensive product knowledge greatly impressed upon me that the success of Orbita is not only because their products are well-made, but because the company’s prime focus is their attention to excellent customer service. While I was talking to them a gentleman came in who had been having problems with the cup piece on his winder and both Donna and Kevin listened closely and even provided him with a replacement cup while showing him the range of winders around us.

I asked them what had prompted this tour of the country, which has included stops in Aventura, Florida, Auburn, Indiana, and Scotsdale, Arizona. Donna mentioned how Orbita had gone to Basel but found the experience unfruitful because their placement wasn’t as visible as they’d hoped for and also because the nature of Basel is so hectic and courted only by those who can travel there. They decided Basel wasn’t practical for most people, so they decided to “bring Basel to the U.S.” and give the presentation to customers as well as employees of Orbita retailers. The showroom on wheels became the best presentation for the customer.

“It’s about building confidence,” said Kevin. “Customers and employees can touch the products and see them demonstrated, and especially to see how easy our products are to program.” Donna added that “When employees are comfortable with knowing how our products work, they can more easily explain to their customers.”

A particular point of pride for them is the fact that all Orbita watchwinders are designed, manufactured and repaired in the U.S., with both of their large warehouses located in Wilmington, North Carolina. Their company is comprised of about 10-12 people in the offices and about the same number in their factories. The people are close-knit and like family, many of whom are literally family, and that business model is why their service is incredibly personable.

I asked them how owner Chuck Agnoff, who personally designs the winders, was doing. “He’s starting to get out once in a while and enjoy his retirement,” Donna said with a laugh. “But he always stops in to see us and he always helps with the development of new designs.” If you’re wanting to know what’s up ahead for Orbita, you can expect to see a new line of Sparta Winders that are completely electronic, virtually silent, and don’t use batteries at all. You may also expect new additions to their Artisan series, in particular a new wood veneer winder with an aquatic theme.
If you missed them in Seattle, they’ll be traveling the coast through Oregon and California over the month of November. For the Roadshow Itinerary, visit http://www.orbita.net/pages/19101.htm

Maurice Lacroix S.A., established over 30 years ago, is one of the few remaining independent Swiss watch manufacturers. CEO Stuart Sklar previously held key positions in sales and management in the watch industry, including the Movado Group, where he was first a midwest sales executive for Piaget, Corum, and Movado, then senior vice president of Concord Watch Co., and ESQ Watch Co. Sklar joined Maurice Lacroix in September 2003.

What motivates you?
My family and the passion for this brand, for Maurice Lacroix, to build this brand into what I think it can become. I have a tremendous drive to succeed. I’ve always wanted to be the best at what I can be and what I do, whether that be sports or business, or whatever. My character, if you will.

What three words best describe you?
Loyal, Honest, Creative, Tenacious…I’m a pretty complex character.

As a CEO, your responsibilities are numerous. How do you deal with stress?
That’s a very good question. It’s not easy to deal with the stress. I play golf and tennis on the weekends. That takes a lot of the stress during the week away from me. I don’t deal with stress very well to be honest. There’s a tremendous amount of demands on the job I have with this company…You do the best you can.

What is the origin of the Maurice Lacroix name?
There was a board member on the parent company…his name was Maurice Lacroix. When they were planning on launching a watch brand, this man passed away. He was apparently a terrific guy, so they honored him by naming the brand after him.

Much of your focus since you came on board in 2003 has been about strengthening your alliances with your authorized retailers and jewelers, weeding out those unauthorized sellers that might tarnish the Maurice Lacroix name. What specifically have you done to achieve these ends?
There was no method to the madness. The first thing I brought was structure, both internally as well as outside. It’s been a difficult job on both sides bringing the brand to where it should be. We’re almost there now, which is good news. In addition to that, we transformed the sales force. We brought in some really, really outstanding people, which is critical because our relationships with our retailers are the most important thing—they basically pay all of our salaries and they drive the brand to where it can be. We implemented a national advertising campaign and we have re-structured the product offerings. There were over 500 different product offerings when I came on board here, which is way too many. It was very deluded. There was no focus on really what sold. What we’ve done is narrowed that down to about 100 to 120 SKUS from 500 and we’re really focusing on our bestsellers to get turned, because today it’s all about turns for the retailers, they need a good ROI and they need to see the product move through the case.
We’ve done an incredible job with that in a very short period of time as well as eliminating a lot of non-core inventory, which we had when we first put this thing forward, basically.

Given the nature of the Internet, what ways have you been successful in protecting your brand’s image?
To me, (unauthorized dealers) are a cancer to the industry. It’s up to each of the vendors to control it. Some don’t control it, a few of them do. What we do is we are very clear—there is no fulfillment allowed on the Internet. We’re in the process of implementing a warranty card which will have all of our authorized dealers’ names on it, so when you get your watch, the name of the company you purchased from should be on the warranty card. We won’t service warranties that come from unauthorized dealers, so our jewelers are protected in that respect.

When Maurice Lacroix left its sponsorship relationship with the Indy Racing League, did you find that the change in direction for the company revealed some unexpected benefits?
I initiated that change. What was happening prior to when I came on board was that all the resources were allocated to event-driven things that doesn’t help our distribution nationally…it helps a couple of dealers in Indianapolis, but it doesn’t help New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles…it’s a flash in the pan…it’s a couple of days-deal, the event happens, and then people forget about it, so it really was a waste of the company’s resources. We were happy to turn that over to TAG Heuer…they have the resources…they can do 50 events like that and still have their visibility.

We’ve got our name on the #1 tennis player in the world, Roger Federer. He’s our international platform, our international ambassador; we’ve utilized him for a couple of events, but more importantly, he’s a part of our advertising and marketing. He’s kind of like our brand: he’s kind of new on the scene, if you will, as far as visibility, he’s got class, he’s got passion for detail, he’s the best at what he does, and we think we’re the best at what we do as far as putting an incredible product on the market. To me, that marriage is unbelievable. If I were to put the Indianapolis 500 vs. Roger Federer on a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say they’re polarized.

I notice on your resume that you were a co-owner of Sofa Gallery in Minneapolis for 10 years after college. What prompted this change to get into the watch business?
Sofa Gallery was a family business. My father and my grandpa and I started it from scratch. Worked, literally, for 10 years, 70 hours a week. My father and I wanted to take the business in different directions. I acquiesced and left, went on the road for 1 year and sold furniture. Did very well. A good friend of mine whom I grew up with called me and—to make a long story short, he was in charge of sales at the Movado group—I went to a New York interview and they offered me a lot more money than I was making and I had two kids with a third on the way, so I took the job. And here I am today.

Where would you like to see Maurice Lacroix in ten years?
What I want to see is a brand that has a national presence. Outside the U.S. it’s a very strong brand—it’s the number one brand in Germany. We’re making incredible headways in Asia, Russia, we just opened South America. What I want to see is a dealer network that’s healthy and that makes a profit when they sell a product, and would like to do business with us. If we do those things, that’s a pretty good legacy.

What watch do you wear?
I’m now wearing the Jours Retrograde, but I switch off every once in a while.

What watch do you give?
I just bought my wife a Selena.

If you literally had to find a needle in a haystack, how would you do it?
That’s a good one. There’s a lot of ways you could do it. Maybe the easiest way would be to set it on fire so that whatever’s left is ashes and the needle. That would probably be the quickest way, if it wasn’t too big of a haystack. Otherwise you get a big magnet, run it through the haystack until the needle stuck to it.