It is a mixed bag for micros, but one thing is for sure - we are all marching to our own drum.

Some of our partners have reported a record Q1, others are flat to slightly down. Some have said they are up slightly but have had to increase ad spend about 50-100% to achieve that. Others have done absolutely nothing different from last year but have doubled sales. Many of our factories have reported a 10-15% decrease in order volume last year and are expecting a further 10-15% drop in order volume in 2024.

Many factories in China have doubled down on their sales teams to try to stop the bleeding, but the drop in order volume has come mostly from large Swiss and European brands, not micros, which according to many factories continue to grow. Many of the large Swiss have pulled production out of China and moved it to Thailand, and a select few micros have follow suit - but this started back in 2020 due to China’s zero-Covid policy.

Don’t really know what to make of any of the above yet, but one thing is certain. We are going through turmoil, many will be shaken out but those that survive will come out on the other side much stronger.

That is a throwback!

I'm down for more Canyon colors. When we started the project with @TheSmokingTire, we had over a dozen colors we were playing with.

NAILED the green ceramic! Just the perfect shade.

The media business is a tough one, which is why many outlets are getting into things beyond just having a website with news and reviews.

Getting into the reseller business was doomed to fail as it operates on razor thin margins and is inherently unscalable.

Despite all that, Hodinkee is still the strongest brand in the watch media space. We were recently featured for the first time in our seven years as a company, and unlike a lot of other outlets, Hodinkee still moves the needle for us.

Oh, on a different model?

Hold my beer.

Unfortunately not. Because it was a limited edition, we aren't able to produce it again. ☹