W Coffee Talk Michael Meier, Region Director Asia/Pacific at Oris: “Watches are all about stories”

Oris remains one of the few independently owned and operated Swiss watch companies for the last 120 years. Based in the peaceful Hölstein village in Waldenburg Valley, 25 km south of Basel in Switzerland, Oris's unique location plays a part in shaping Oris to go their own way, following a path that makes sense to the brand itself, and to the loyal customers.

Over more than a decade under Oris' roof, Michael Meier is an accredited representative of the brand in Southeast Asian as well as Asia-Pacific markets. Before joining Oris, Michael Meier had extensive experience in the retail sector in Europe and Australian markets.

Having been visiting Vietnam on several trips before, but this time, he came to the country for a very important mission: to officially launch the Oris brand in Vietnam. 

Many watch brands preferring the third-party movements. What about Oris?

We still use the third-party movements as it's very relevant to our price point in the market. As a small brand, it's really hard to have such a volume to offer a price that makes sense, therefore sourced movements are very good solutions. By doing so, we can basically bounce back into the power to develop strong movements.

Apart from that, in-house movements is also something we focus on. We're watchmakers and enthusiasts at the same time. We want a robust the watch's movement and make it better than a standard sourced movement. That’s why we have gone through the hustle and challenge of planning, developing and building our movements. 

Developing a movement takes a great amount of time and resources, but the price range of Oris watches is fairly reasonable. How have Oris solved that challenge?

It takes a lot of time to develop a movement: Up to five years! And a lot more thinking of planning ahead of that as well as expenses spent. And to progress further, everyday we are working on the movement to make it better, so that we can build a platform that we can use for years. And in all that, we want to make sure it's reasonable. As a brand, we talk about things that must make sense. We want to bring what we love to make but still available to as many people as possible. 

From the very first days when we started working at a movement, we also had a price on the line. It's easy to create a movement that's beautiful, special and expensive. However, our goal is to master the creation of a movement with special functionality and also high reliability, at a realistic price point. This is a challenge that we want to achieve.

How would you describe your Vietnam costomers?

It’s always about personal and local taste. In some markets, people prefer a larger watch, but in other markets they prefer a smaller size. Mainstream taste might become more international but all of this local taste is something that we are very happy to discover and understand. 

Our partner in Vietnam as well as in every other country really understands the market, what customers like or what resonates with them. It's our consumers, the enthusiasts that basically bring such inspiring ideas for us. All we have to do is to listen actively, then try to really dive into the market and understand it.

What values customers can find in an Oris watch but hardly in other brands?

There’s no rational reason to buy a mechanical watch nowaday. Years ago we needed a watch to know what time it is to get to work or to not to miss a train, but nowadays we have so many options. If it's just about knowing what time it is, we have smart watches or smartphones. Watch lovers don’t buy a mechanical watch on a rational basis but for the emotional drives. And that says a lot itself. 

Our purpose as a company is to make people smile, so we do not see ourselves as too serious, although we're very serious about watchmaking. We celebrate the joy of mechanics, of making watches, that's why all our designs deliver the values that we live by. In particular, sustainability is really the mindset that drives everything we do. 

Secondly, we are very proud of our independence, a family business, so we can really develop this brand in the long term and do special things. The spirit of an independent brand has a big challenge, as we have to fight for our place. But I think it resonates with people who also value independence, who want to make their own statement. 

The third point lies in the fact that we always strive for solutions to make our watches as beautiful as possible without compromising their functionality. On top of that, we are conscious about our impact in this world and trying to make the world a better place in so many small ways. We take it all together, hopefully it resonates with our customers.

Many Oris watches highlight sustainability. Could you share more about this?

A sustainable watch is also a sustainable message, and it should be a beautiful product, too. From PBT plastic, we created uniqueness in every single watch dial. This really in itself contains quite a few messages that we like. 

We also use recycled fishing nets for the straps, and people seem to love the idea a lot! They talk about our oceans being full of ghost nets that have been abandoned by fishermen. And they create a big problem for animals because they’re tangled in them and die for no reason, just because the net is floating around. So our design could be a great solution!

Watches are all about stories, like the story of Oris for 120 years of watchmaking. Every watch also carries a different message, like stories of family, history, sustainability, and personal stories of the one who wears the watch. 

What are Oris' strategies to win in the Vietnam market?

We need a chance to share our stories. When I came to the market, I've realised people have been waiting for us too. It's our job here to create the visibility for Oris to capture that crowd - those people awaiting us. At Oris, we believe watches should be inclusive. Luxury should be inclusive. We don’t want to exclude people by saying “I know you can buy or you can not buy", thats why we want to build communities to bring watch lovers together.  

Oris is known for its Oris Social Club with thousands of members across the continents. Certainly there will be something that we're also going to look in here, like having local Oris social club chapters. We're very sure that we are able to build a community of enthusiasts in Vietnam. 

If I wore an Oris watch, how would people think of me?

I guess they will be curious to learn more about the brand, because it’s not a brand that you can see every day. They will see a person who has an independent mindset and does not follow the others. Our slogan is “go your own way", so usually, people who wear Oris know where they're going and have their own path. They have a sustainable mindset and a good taste too. Because among many other Swiss brands, they choose a timepiece from an independent company with 120 years of history. 

Now I have a small challenge for you: Please describe Oris in very few words!

It is independent watchmaking, sustainable mindset, no compromise, makes sense and relevant for the people.

Thank you for the very inspiring stories!