We are introducing our new models in October / November 2010; Our Dutch design collection.

The designs stand for the future collections of Skav: pure models in steel and black cases with a colourful accent that brings a subtle change. Furthermore we have a new top-of-the-range mechanical watch: The EKO2. This watch offers features the spoiled watchlover will opt for: Automatic movement with big date, sapphire glass with anti glare, stainless steel casing in black, 10 ATM waterproof, black calf leather  Retail it is yours for 479 euros.

By the way: We are offering old models for sale prices on a short notice so keep an eye on this in our webshop and ofcourse the retailers if you’re interested!

New models

New models

New models

Preface

A lot has happened in a year with Skav, we introduced our collection in the Netherlands in march 2009. Andwe got a new partner in our company: Maurice Van Houts. Expert in diamonds and owner of a jewelleryshop in Amsterdam. He forms together with Henk Van Velthoven our design team. On the picture (taken in Amsterdam on “de Magere Brug”) from left to right: Jorgen, Henk, Maurice & Maarten.

The BaselWorld Fair 2010

We decided that going to Basel was inevitable to put Skav on the worldmap. We brainstormed a lot in the months before and worked out some nice ideas to put our brand in the right spotlight. At least to our modest opninion. We were a bit worried how the Swiss people would react to some ideas. The ideas are not really extreme but for an average swiss inhabitant it could be little too much.

The things we came up with all shared a few things on the area of marketing: They are innovative, on the edge and creative. We also wanted to do something with our Dutch heritage.

We took quite a few pieces of Old Amsterdam cheese, this is the start of our story:  A slice of Old Amsterdam cheese represents the old & ancient Amsterdam. Skav, on the other hand, stands for the New Amsterdam. This make clear what and who we are. By the way it’s amazing, how foreign people love our cheese. Old Amsterdam was a hit in Basel! Now all we had to do was make sure the New Amsterdam, Skav would also be a success!

We also took another famous Dutch “delicatesse”. Drop (or liquorice). On the wrap we designed was: “with love from Amsterdam” which is ofcourse many times used and a classic. The liquorice was almost pulled out of our hands. It’s something else when you are always eating Toblerone.  Next year we bring more .

Also we brought some original Dutch design furniture and 2 bicycles. The furniture, a stool designed by Chris Ruhe from Den Bosch, attracted a lot of attention on our stand.

The fair started and the curious thing about the visitors is that every day the population of visitors is quite different. Day 1,2,3 starts with a lot of consumers, whereas day 4 and on the professionals come by the stands.

On day 2 we had our Green Graffiti guerilla marketing action.

We met enumerous people from a lot of different countries. We got a lot of positive feedback on our brand and marketing ideas. Also the dutch and international media knew their way to our stand. Who were behind that new, small brand? And how did they draw so much attention?

The most important thing we realized was to learn to know our (potential) customers. We did achieve this! We are in the month after the fair in contact with several countries. In Switzerland & Austria we started already. Promising contacts we have in USA, Mexico, Germany and France.

To conclude about Baselworld 2010: We are very positive about the fair and the fun we made and are happy to be on BaselWorld 2011 again. Hopefully to meet you there!

In the meantime you can always contact us through: info [at] skav.com

The past few months were busy as no other. We have been contacting
potential partners for distribution in surrounding countries. We also
did a very intense market inquiry in Germany and spent a lot of time on
getting people to know Skav.
Besides this we took a good look in the mirror and asked ourselves how
we could further improve the service to our distributors and their
customers. As a result many good things happened and therefore we are
ready to get 2010 started!

Skav on film

Maarten Bakker and Henk van Velthoven have taken charge of the marketing per September 2009. As a result many new things are initiated: the most eye catching event is an appearance in the TV show (pilot) “Bij ons in de BV” from Jort Kelder. Not only did Henk have a one minute pitch on the website but also a promotion film has been recorded that will be played on the website of the show.  The film can also be viewed on our website and will be made available for all Skav dealers. To watch the one minute film, click on the picture below.

Skav web shop

Another feature we added is the Skav Web shop. Here you can view the collection and immediately purchase the model you like. You can choose to pick up the watch at your local jeweler store or receive the watch straight from Skav. For payment you can use Ideal or a credit card. To create more brand awareness for Skav and to be able to present the watch straight to the consumer this web shop is the ideal tool. To make sure we get in contact with our customer, a wide spread SMS promotion starts today. On billboards, narrowcasting screens and on the outside of vending machines, a poster or projection of Skav is shown. Click on the picture to see more.

Send an SMS and have a chance to win a Skav watch!  Every contestant receives a discount code for our web shop. Thus we promote the brand, the web shop and give our customer the possibility to view the collection whenever they want. We also have sent out a press-release in November concerning our Web-shop: We have a quite unique proposal for retailers: We give a bonus for every watch sold in our Web-shop. You can click here for details.

Store locator

One of the other changes is a new look and feel for our website. Definitely the  most  eye catching is our store locator. Naturally it will point you to our nearest Skav dealers but will also tell you how far away the next possible options is.

Just punch in your city and the available Skav dealers are shown on a map. Check it out  on www.skav.com and choose “store locator”.

Last month was a busy month.

I visited some customers in Germany, and potential distributors in France and the UK.

Something very strange is going on in France and the UK.

Many distributors are reluctant to take on Scandinavian designed watches. They tell me that their customers are not into this type of design or that they are not ready for it. On the other hand, companies that have experience with Scandinavian design, and lose a brand, don€™t know how quick they have to fill the gap with€¦..Scandinavian design! You would think that they don€™t want to if there are no customers for this product.

But it gets even stranger!! Other companies know at first glance that Skav is a brand with huge potential. Studying our product makes them even more convinced and that€™s the attitude of a winner! Somebody who already has the customer in mind when he is looking at Skav for the first time.

How can these two companies co-exist?

I think I have to stop to try to understand and just enjoy the growing interest for our young brand. I guess some companies simply adjust quicker to the ever changing market conditions than others. I honestly feel that for those companies the €œdifficult market situation€ offers nothing but opportunity.

Skav is definitely part of that opportunity and therefore confident for the future.

Besides our distribution network there are other things happening too. We as a team are very busy to make new exiting designs. For new designs you cannot ask enough info from your customers so please let us know what you think. Go a little down to the pictures with watches or go to http://blog.skav.com/?p=28

Also we would like to know what type of watch you would buy next. Is it a traditional, fashionable or design watch? Please answer our poll at http://polls.linkedin.com/p/40667/fvhex

Frans

Horsten

Director of Skav watches.

Last week, the Skav team visited the “New Russian Style” fair in Moscow. The fair is a large-scale show promoting jewelry and watches for the Russian market. While visiting, Skav got the opportunity to get a better understanding of how the Russian jewelry and watch market works.

Despite the fact that the fair consisted of 80% jewelry and 20% watches, it was a very meaningful experience for Skav and some interesting contacts have been made. The coming months will show if we can build on the fundaments made during this show. Here are some pictures to get an impression of the fair.

At the same time, at the Olympiyski Indoor Arena in Moscow, several contestants from all over Europe were fighting for a spot in the final of the “Eurovision Song Festival”.
Because the Dutch “Toppers” didn’t make it to the final, Skav was quietly rooting for Yohanna from Iceland. The fact that two of her band members were wearing a Skav watch during the finals had absolutely nothing to do with it. Below you can find the picture of 2 background vocals totally happy with their Skav watch€¦€¦

In front of more than a 1 million viewers, Iceland came in second place behind Norway. To watch the live version of the Iceland song “Yohanna – is it true” click here.

Friends of Skav

On Wednesday 13 May, we held a small party for friends and family of the Skav team. This was the moment that people could finally see with their own eyes, where members of the Skav team have been talking about for the past months.
We were happy and very proud with the response we got that evening. Again a confirmation that our design choice is supported by all kinds of different people.

Skav is official sponsor of copa Amsterdam

Skav has become an official sponsor of Gestion Copa Amsterdam. This is a well respected soccer tournament that is held every year in Amsterdam for players under 19 years of age. In the fifth edition of this tournament, different teams from well known clubs like Real Madrid (Spain), Chelsea (England), and Ajax (Netherlands), will play to win the title this year. It is a three day tournament held in the weekend of May 30th. Skav is very happy to sponsor an activity like this to keep young people active and healthy.
During the tournament, Copa Amsterdam has set up a charity event. On Saturday night, several items from sponsors will be up for auction. The auction is in favor of the Clinic Clowns Foundation. They cooperate with Cope Amsterdam to raise money for sick and handicap children. The Clinic Clown foundation tries to make them forget about their though situation and put a smile on their faces.
Skav will provide 3 watches that will be up for auction that night. With this contribution Skav wants to show their appreciation for the Clinic Clowns and hopes that the raised money can make a few extra kids forget about their disease.
For more information about the tournament, check www.copa-amsterdam.nl

Share your experience

The Skav team is designing watches for you! This means that we cannot do it without your input. Your thoughts on new designs, how you like the watch, where did you buy it, etc, etc.
This is all very valuable information for us. To make your voice heard you can visit our blog at http://blog.skav.com .
Or you can become a member on Linkedin and join our group of users “love Skav Watches” on this webpage.

Skav in the press: New articles

Over the past weeks, Skav has been under the attention again of several magazines and even a radio station. Because Skav is featured in the (inter)national press for quite some time now, more and more magazines request interviews with Skav; “Impressie” is one of them. This interview with Henk van Velthoven, co-founder of Skav and owner of a jeweler store in Heemstede, is in Dutch and covers 2 pages. We also appeared in the Scandinavian special of Jeweline.
To view the article of “Impressie” or the parts of the special that concern Skav, Click on the cover of de the magazines.

At our website under “latest news” you can find all other magazines where Skav was presented in. www.skav.com/news
The radio station responded after Skav send out a press release. Radio “Noord-Holland” was interested in finding out more about the brand and requested an interview with co-founder Frans Horsten. During a 7 minute interview, Frans explained how Skav differs from all other watch brands. And what Skav is all about; “Scandinavian design with a Dutch twist”

Each year, the world’s biggest and most important event for the watch and jewellery industry is held in Basel, Switzerland. Companies from all over the world showcase their latest developments and innovations at the fair.

March 26 was the first day of Basel world 2009, as the Skav team travelled down to Switzerland to visit for 4 days. It was a very positive experience for Skav. They talked to numerous successful distributors from various countries and enjoyed the sophisticated ambiance of the event. Skav is working towards exhibiting on the next Basel world in 2010.

One of the reasons for visiting the Basel fair was discussing new models with our suppliers. We have some great ideas and would like your input.  Please comment on the models below.   

The model on the left could be produced in both leather and mesh bands.  The model on the right could be available with integrated leather strap. Typical about this design would be the date. Contrary to the traditional design, there could be 3 days visible.  The date will be easier to read this way. The models will be fitted with Sapphire crystal and be 3 ATM water resistant.

On March 2^nd 2009 Skav Watches was launched on the Dutch market. This happened during the Trade Event €œJewels and Watches€ in the Beatrix building in Utrecht. Skav is a new watch brand, developed in Amsterdam. The watches combine subtle Scandinavian design with robust Dutch quality. The entire collection of 80 models is fitted with sapphire crystal. Sales prices start at ‚¬159.

Design
Skav represents the now. The watches combine the subtle Scandinavian design with robust Dutch quality. Professional, sporty or casual. The watch forms a unity with the wrist of the self-confident modern man and woman and suit the individual and proud Skav owner. Timeless, elegant and headstrong models with a professional character. Constantly focussed on the essence; It€™s about time.

Quality

Skav is the only brand in its price range that has the entire collection fitted with the hardest watch glass available; sapphire crystal. Only diamond is harder. The combination of the precision movement, the integrated leather watch strap, Ionised Plating (IP) and water-resistance make it a watch of high quality. All made of stainless steel, of course. Unique in its class and exclusive top quality according to the latest technology.

Four men with a mission
Skav stands for knowledge, expertise, and experience and in particular a perception of what a watch should be. Frans Horsten and Henk van Velthoven have been involved in the watch business for more than twenty years. Jorgen Boukens and Maarten Bakker develop ideas into products. With Skav they realise their shared dream of launching their own modern watch brand. It is a balanced team with a passion.

Skav is also available in Belgium, Germany and Austria. Other countries will follow soon.

You can find this press release and high res. and low res. illustrations on this link:

http://www.skav.com/contact/introduction-in-holland/

For more information you can contact:

Frans Horsten, Co-Founder Skav watches: +31 (0) 20-222 33 19 or +31(0)6-54 22 48 83

Maarten Bakker, Co-Founder Skav watches

Email: f.horsten@skav.com

Website: www.skav.com

Presentation of Co-founder Frans Horsten during “Jewels & Watches” trade mart