About this episode

Gabe and Asher discuss the rapid consolidation in the American watch retail industry and its implications for enthusiasts and independent businesses.

While preparing to speak on a panel about the rapidly changing state of American watch retail, Gabe stumbles onto an annual industry report that ranks the largest jewelry and watch retailers by revenue — and what he finds stops him cold. The company sitting at the very top of the list is one neither he nor Asher had ever heard of: a quiet giant operating thousands of doors in plain sight. And the name long assumed to rule American watch retail? It's quietly been overtaken. This week, Gabe and Asher dig into what the numbers actually reveal — an industry consolidating faster than most enthusiasts realize, on both the retail floor and the brand side. They trace how one retailer went from almost nothing to the brink of a billion dollars in a single decade, why brick-and-mortar still rules even in an online-first world, and how a single dominant brand quietly pulls the strings behind some of the biggest players. Along the way, a long-held assumption gets turned on its head: the position everyone once considered the safest bet in watch retail may now be the most exposed. The bigger question hanging over all of it — as the giants get bigger and the old rules fall away, is any of this…

People in this episode

Hosts: Gabe, Asher

Topics covered

• watch retail
• industry consolidation
• American watch market
• brick-and-mortar vs online
• impact on enthusiasts
• retail giants
• independent businesses

Keywords

• watch retail
• consolidation
• industry report
• retail giants
• brick-and-mortar
• independent businesses
• American market

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American watch retail, jewelry and watch retailers, brick-and-mortar, independents

More episodes of Openwork: Inside the Watch Industry

• The Quiet Giants – How Seiko, Citizen, and Casio Each Cleared a Billion – Episode 82 · May 25, 2026 · 58 min
• Royal Flop? – AP x Swatch: Brand Building or Crisis Management? – Episode 81 · May 18, 2026 · 58 min
• How Watches Get Allocated – It's Not Just Spend History – Episode 80 · May 11, 2026 · 55 min

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