Nope.
Shinola knows plenty about watch making from every angle. The company has been seamlessly functioning alongside Swiss part suppliers, experts in watchmaking, and training programs. American-made products flow smoothly in and out of the factory right alongside imported parts.
Yes, a part from Switzerland is an "imported part".
The operation was fired up with absolute precision in a difficult area for business, with a keen eye on the unemployment of people familiar with assembly work and receptive to training. It's one of the cleanest roll-outs of such an venture that you'll ever see.
Why?
That's simple. Tom Kartsotis, the guy behind Bedrock Manufacturing, hatched the whole operation. That matters, because he's the one that created Fossil out of thin fucking air and built it into a timekeeping powerhouse. The man bloody well knows timepieces, and knows how to leverage assets from countless directions to make things happen just the way they need to.
He also knows marketing. He knows people want a domestic product, but he's figured out exactly how much they're willing to pay to gain entry into the "Made in the U.S.A." club. He's tailored the entire operation to maximize domestic production, and balance it out with the Swiss "brand" of expertise. The man is a genius in that respect.
It takes a scalpel of a mind to put together such a perfect recipe; especially if you mean to end up with a good product, and he's ended up with an excellent product.
Make no mistake: Shinola knows watches as well as anyone; and so does Filson. After all, they're both owned by Bedrock now.
Filson has a renewed approach to domestic procurement, as well. They were struggling, and some of the strange offerings you've seen lately have been attempts to determine what people are willing to buy; so are the seemingly randomized sales. It's being carefully orchestrated, and I hope buyers respond well.
Recently, they tried a fully U.S. produced coat, made of U.S. sourced materials, at three different prices in each season. If you keep your eye on the ball, you can track this stuff. Very little information remains behind closed doors if you peek through every time someone opens them.
This fucker is good. He's very good.
Cheers,
Kennith
