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
Service took Yinka Faleti from Kuwait to Ferguson; now this VC’s pushing social change from a $25M fund
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. ST.…
Here for the party: Mobile bar wants you to drink your brand (and its own laid-back, good-times vibe)
A new mobile bar business wants to take the cockiness out of the cocktail scene. “There’s a lot of ego in the cocktail scene, but we think the bar should be a distraction,” said Brian Shellenberger, co-founder of runner! cocktails. “When you’re having a stressed out week, what do you do? You go to a…
Look up for ‘King Me’: How Rif Raf Giraffe’s colorful new mural paints a full circle moment on this Crossroads corner
The chaos created by an unexpected building collapse that sent Jason Harrington’s East Crossroads apartment crumbling to the pavement below ultimately made room for an even larger canvas, said the famed graffiti artist also known as Rif Raf Giraffe. In 2018, the building now home to King G — a neighborhood bar and deli —…
Fully funded in less than 6 hours: KC-stitched Yardball reinvents the game of catch, nearly doubles Kickstarter goal
Chad Hickman has experienced how easy it is to get lost in a deep conversation while playing a game of catch, he shared. “When your only goal is to throw something back and forth, you can really open up in a conversation and focus on the now. You’re not worried about other things. I used…