From 50 Watches to 10,000 a Month: Two Young Founders Building a Watch Brand

How many watches should a new microbrand order for its first launch?

500? 1,000?

Sometimes, a brand with real potential starts with just 50 watches.

This is the story of two young European founders who began working with FOKSY with little more than a love for watches and a clear ambition.

When they first contacted us, one was 16 years old and the other was 20.

No large team.

No established supply chain.

No huge opening order.

Just one clear goal:

Build a watch brand of their own.

They Contacted Dozens of Watch Suppliers in China

Like many first-time founders, they started their sourcing journey on Alibaba

They contacted dozens of suppliers, comparing:

• prices
• MOQs
• products
• response speed
• customization capabilities

Eventually, they chose FOKSY.

The reason was surprisingly simple.

They felt that we understood what they were trying to build.

For an early-stage microbrand, that matters.

They did not simply need a supplier who would reply:

“Yes, we can do it.”

They needed a manufacturer that understood:

• their budget was still limited
• their market was not yet validated
• they could not afford excessive inventory
• the product still needed to feel different from generic watches
• and if the brand succeeded, the supplier had to be capable of growing with them

Another important factor was MOQ.

For selected existing FOKSY models, we can support orders starting from 50 pieces per model and color.

So instead of committing to hundreds or thousands of watches before knowing whether customers would buy them, they made a much more practical decision:

Start with 50. Test the market.

The First 50 Sold Out Quickly

The response was strong.

Their first 50 watches sold out quickly.

And suddenly, the question changed.

At the beginning, they were asking:

“Can this brand sell?”

Now they were asking:

“If this brand grows, can our supply chain grow with it?”

That is a major turning point for many microbrands.

A supplier who can make 50 watches is not automatically the supplier you want when your business reaches 500, 5,000 or more.

So they decided to come to China and see the operation for themselves.

October 2025: Their First Visit to Shenzhen

In October 2025, the two founders visited FOKSY in Shenzhen.

They did not come simply to look at watch samples.

They wanted to understand:

• how watches were assembled
• how quality was controlled
• how mechanical watches were tested
• how the supply chain was managed
• how sampling moved into mass production
• and whether production could scale as their brand grew

For a serious brand, these questions eventually matter far more than saving a few dollars on the purchase price.

Because when a brand grows, the expensive problems are usually not unit prices.

They are:

delays, rework, inconsistent quality and wasted communication time.

After the factory visit, we started discussing their next product development.

That evening, the two founders stayed with our design and product team until 1:00 AM, finalizing the next development and order plan.

At that point, it was no longer simply about another purchase order.

The conversation had become:

What should this brand build next?

Growth Becomes Easier When the Supply Chain Stops Consuming Your Attention

What is one of the most limited resources for a young founder?

Not inventory.

Not even money.

It is:

attention.

If a founder spends every day asking:

• “When will my sample be ready?”
• “Why is there a quality issue?”
• “Why hasn't my supplier replied?”
• “When can you make my reorder?”
• “Who is responsible for this after-sales issue?”

then that founder has less time for the things that actually build the business:

customers, marketing and brand.

As our cooperation became more stable, these two founders were able to put more of their energy into what they were good at:

• serving customers
• creating content
• marketing
• building the brand
• growing sales

And we focused on the manufacturing side.

To us, this is one of the clearest signs of good supplier service:

The client should have to think about the factory less, not more.

July 2026: They Came Back

Less than a year later, they visited FOKSY again.

This time, the business looked very different.

On their first visit, they were still a young microbrand proving its market.

By their second visit, the brand had exceeded:

5,000 watches in monthly sales.

From a 50-piece test order to more than 10,000 watches a month.

That growth did not happen because of a factory.

It came from their own:

passion, discipline, execution and determination.

A supplier cannot build the market for a client.

A supplier cannot replace brand building.

But a good manufacturing partner can do something extremely important:

avoid becoming the bottleneck that holds a growing brand back.

And, when possible, help that brand move a little faster through better product, quality and supply-chain support.

What Other Watch Microbrands Can Learn From Their Story

Many first-time founders spend too much time asking:

“Where can I find the cheapest factory?”

A better set of questions would be:

Is this supplier right for my brand today?

If my sales grow 10X, will they still be right for me?

Can they support me from ODM testing to deeper OEM development?

Can they understand my design rather than simply execute an order?

Can they maintain quality, reorders and supply stability as volume grows?

Those questions tell you far more about long-term supplier value.

How FOKSY Supports Watch Brands at Different Stages

FOKSY works mainly with overseas watch microbrands, DTC and Shopify brands, and fashion businesses launching their own watch collections.

Our work goes beyond simply putting a logo on a watch.

Different stages require different manufacturing strategies.

Early Stage

When a brand has limited budget and has not yet validated its market, we often recommend starting with a proven existing design.

Selected FOKSY models can start from 50 pieces per model and color.

The brand can customize elements such as:

• dial design
• logo
• colors
• straps
• packaging

and keep more capital available for market testing.

Growth Stage

Once the brand understands what customers actually want, we can gradually introduce stronger customization through:

• redesigned dials
• material changes
• structural development
• packaging systems
• deeper OEM projects

The goal is to make the product increasingly recognizable as your brand, rather than simply another watch.

Scaling Stage

As sales grow, the manufacturing question changes from:

“Can you make it?”

to:

“Can you keep making it reliably?”

That means stronger focus on:

• supply-chain stability
• quality consistency
• reorder efficiency
• engineering management
• after-sales support
• continuous product development

From the first 50 watches to much larger production volumes, the supply chain should evolve with the brand.

Their Story Is Still Being Written

They started at 16 and 20 with a simple decision:

Start.

Less than a year later, they had reached a level many founders spend years trying to achieve.

What stands out most to us is not only their sales.

It is their:

passion.

discipline.

execution.

And their ability to remain focused once they decide where they want to go.

We do not believe 5,000 watches per month will be the end of their story.

The most interesting chapter may still be ahead.

And for FOKSY, one of the most rewarding parts of manufacturing is not simply being able to say:

“We produced another order.”

It is being able to look back years later and say:

We were there when the brand was still small.

And we were still there when it grew.

That is what long-term partnership means to us.

Building Your Own Watch Brand?

If your brand is still at an early stage, you do not necessarily need to commit to large inventory immediately.

Tell us:

• your brand positioning
• target market
• target retail price
• preferred watch style
• first-order budget

FOKSY can help you evaluate whether it makes more sense to:

start with a lower-risk existing design or move directly into OEM development;

how much to produce for the first test;

and

where to invest now versus what can wait until the market is validated.

We cannot promise that every brand will grow from 50 watches to 10,000 per month.

Winning the market is ultimately the brand's job.

What we can do is work to make sure that when your brand begins to grow,

your supply chain does not become the part that holds you back.

Talk to FOKSY about your watch brand.