KC luxury watch startup, Niall lands in Tivol stores
June 10, 2015 | Bobby Burch
Luxury timepiece-maker Niall will soon be selling its watches with one of Kansas City’s most prestigious jewelers.
The Kansas City-based watchmaker will start selling its timepieces at two Kansas City Tivol stores on June 18, offering it both exposure and validation, Niall CEO Mike Wilson said. Tivol is the company’s first major retailer, Wilson said.
“It’s huge for us,” Wilson said. “This was a very important step for us because it’s huge validation that someone like Tivol — who’s been around 100 years and only deals with the best brands — has chosen to work with us, a young company.”
Wilson said that Niall’s partner, Salva O’Renick, has been invaluable in helping the company gain traction. Also CEO of marketing and sales tech firm Chemistry, Wilson said that Salva O’Renick has been particularly helpful with getting its products into the hands of consumers.
“One complication was building market validation,” he said. “We had the marketing piece of it, but really the piece that was missing was sales and distribution. People that like Niall would like to see it in a case next to a Rolex or Panerai.”
Founded in 2014, Niall watches start at $3,950. Niall is manufactured in Kansas City, and nearly all of its parts derive from within the United States, Wilson said.
Featured Business
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
C2FO marks $300B in funding for businesses as entrepreneurs navigate ongoing credit crunch
Rapid marketplace expansion in the first half of 2023 helped push Leawood-based C2FO — the world’s on-demand working capital platform — past the $300-billion mark in total funding to its customers. This record funding amount reflects invoices paid an average of 31 days early via C2FO’s platform. C2FO gets vital, low-cost capital into customers’ hands…
Froyo with a ’tini twist: Entrepreneur collaboration serves alcoholic frozen yogurt in KC
Kansas City is excited by the new flavor combinations popping up as two entrepreneurs give customers a taste of collaboration, said Isaac Collins, teasing a line of alcoholic frozen yogurt that’s already hitting cups in the metro. Through a partnership with KC-based Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri, Collins’ Yogurtini locations have begun a series of happy…
How Meshuggah Bagels ‘built a bakery without a recipe’ — now expanding to Liberty, Lawrence
Pete Linde tested 72 bagel recipes before hitting perfection with number 73, said Janna Linde. She knows because she tried every single test bagel. “Pete worked on that recipe for about a year. He had a notebook and took notes on every little tweak and modification he made. I’d see the big hand mixer come…
Royals preview ballpark of the future: Now they need to decide where to put it
Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. The Royals are choosing between a stadium and entertainment district in Kansas City’s East Village or in North Kansas City. The…