Jeweller - November 2023

THE BUSINESS OF BRANDS | Daniel Wellington
2011
Founding year of
Daniel Wellington
IN NUMBERS
Deep Dive
50
Number of countries
Daniel Wellington
products are sold.
2014
The year
Daniel Wellington first
sold more than one
million units
5 Million
Wellington's
Instagram following
as at 2023.
The latest releases from Daniel Wellington. The brand has
plans to expand further into jewellery in 2024.
At the time, Australian consumers were still enamoured with
branded jewellery – the success of Pandora specifically had
blazed a trail that many successfully pursued.
Duraflex Group Australia managing director Phil Edwards
says that Daniel Wellington effectively ‘covered all the bases’
when it comes to commercial success.
“It was a quality product supported with strong marketing,
which entered the market at the perfect time. That’s always a
recipe for success,” he explains.
“At the time, the Australian market was riding the wave of
many successful branded products – think of Pandora and
Thomas SABO, as examples – and consumers were looking
for similar products at a similar price point.”
Lessons learned the hard way
As the brand continued to expand, Daniel Wellington
attempted to move to a vertically integrated model, favouring
brand-only stores over partnerships with distributors.
At the same time, the COVID pandemic began. Public
gathering was prohibited in markets worldwide, and the roller
doors slammed shut on brick-and-mortar store sales.
West End Collection previously distributed Daniel Wellington
in Australia; however, that partnership was terminated.
The New Zealand subsidiary of Daniel Wellington was
liquidated in May 2020 – less than two years after it was
incorporated.
Johan Liberg, global sales manager, says that revenue
for Daniel Wellington declined during this period and that
the pandemic handed a young brand – which had become
a household name worldwide within a few short years –
many lessons learned the hard way.
“We are happy to admit that our timing was wrong.
Operating stores during a global pandemic quickly
became an expensive proposition,” he jokes.
“We acknowledge that we underestimated the importance
of having a strong partnership with a local distributor that
understands the market intricately. It doesn’t matter if it’s
Australia, Italy, or Sweden; you need the insight of a powerful
local player.
THE
FULL DISCLOSURE
Joakim Levin
DANIEL WELLINGTON
"We were one of the first
watch brands to embrace
influencer marketing, and in
the early days, we put every
single penny we had into
marketing and advertising."
Johan Liberg
DANIEL WELLINGTON
"It doesn’t matter if it’s
Australia, Italy, or Sweden; you
need the insight of a powerful
local player. It was a good
lesson for us to learn."
Phil Edwards
DURAFLEX GROUP AUSTRALIA
"It was a quality product
supported with strong marketing,
which entered the market at
the perfect time. That’s always a
recipe for success."
“It was a good lesson for us to learn.”
With that said, Edwards says there is still a clear gap in the
Australian market for Daniel Wellington products.
“After the success of the brands I mentioned earlier, there
was a feeling among retailers that they had ‘overbranded’
themselves. Stores moved away from branded jewellery –
they wanted their store to feel unique and represent them,”
he explains.
“That means with the few brands that they do stock, they
are very selective. The good news is that we are finding that
retailers are very enthusiastic to have Daniel Wellington
back on their shelves.”
Currently, Daniel Wellington is performing exceptionally well
in department stores and mini-majors; however, distribution
via independent retailers is limited. This will be DGA’s focus.
The next chapter?
From the highs of rapid global popularity to the lows of the
pandemic, Daniel Wellington has seen it all in a little more
than a decade. Now, the brand plans to expand further into
the jewellery market.
“Our main focus for the next two years is expansion into
jewellery. Based on macro trends and examining the
performance of our products, we can see that jewellery
is an opportunity for expansion for us, and we want to
capitalise on the opportunity,” Liberg says.
“It’s something that we’ve been working on for a long time.
We launched our first line of jewellery products in 2016 to
test the waters, and the results were pleasing.”
Australian consumer confidence remains weak, and
household budgets have tightened; however, the pandemic
taught us that people tend to treat themselves with luxury
indulgences when times are tough.
In business, there are no secret recipes for success. With
that said, whether it be with watches or jewellery, Daniel
Wellington’s inclination to offer a quality product at an
affordable price might just open the door for retailers to meet
these new consumer demands.
November 2023 | 45