Executive Briefing
Hodinkee and the new luxury
“We want to be the nose on the face of the watch industry.”

Hodinkee, an online publication and store for watch enthusiasts, announced earlier this month that it had raised $40 million in new financing, and that Toby Bateman — most recently the managing director of Mr. Porter, the men’s luxury e-commerce brand from Net-A-Porter — was joining the company as its CEO.
Hodinkee is interesting for many reasons, even if you don’t care about watches.
It has become one of the best working examples of the elusive niche content, commerce, and community model.
Launched in 2008 by Benjamin Clymer as a website about watches — I first met him shortly after that, when Hodinkee was a simple but attractive Squarespace blog — it will generate around $25 million in revenue this year, mostly from e-commerce, and has long been profitable.
The New Consumer Executive Briefing is exclusive to members — join now to unlock this 1,600-word post and the entire archive. Subscribers should sign in here to continue reading.

Hi, I’m Dan Frommer and this is The New Consumer, a publication about how and why people spend their time and money.
I’m a longtime tech and business journalist, and I’m excited to focus my attention on how technology continues to profoundly change how things are created, experienced, bought, and sold. The New Consumer is supported entirely by your membership — join now to receive my reporting, analysis, and commentary directly in your inbox, via my twice-weekly, member-exclusive newsletter. Thanks in advance.