Four ‘Everests’ to conquer in the creation of a watchmaking brand

As far as Alain Marhic was concerned, watchmaking was a market which was polarised between the classical, top-range watches and the more affordable ‘sports’ watches. He also found that watch creation was boring and conventional. He thought there was a place for a new brand which could be ‘high end’ but also creative. He found an extremely talented designer who seemed to be able to bring a fresh look to this market... without having ever designed a watch before. March LA.B’s story began with a degree of frustration, an ambition, a meeting, and a dose of pure madness. What followed are what Marhic refers to as his four ‘Everests’, ‘mountains’ which stood in his way and which he needed to conquer. Firstly, creation, codified and ‘strained’, was a constant balancing act in an attempt to impose a new identity. Secondly, industrialisation had to contend with a concentrated market which was forced to co-ordinate the work of about fifteen major manufacturers. Thirdly, distribution was focused on ‘safe bets’, solid values, and novelties were not a priority. Lastly, the major watch brands monopolised press coverage and publicity. Despite these ‘Everests’, after seven years, March LA.B is starting to make its mark in the closed world of watches.